First last Monday this study was reported widely in the meda:
Climate change likely to steer away Sandy-like superstorms, study says
Scientists predict stronger storms but say changing air patterns will prevent them from hitting US east coast
By Suzanne Goldenberg
A recurrence of Superstorm Sandy â which barrelled head-on into the Atlantic coast, swamping New York City and large parts of New Jersey â is less likely under climate change, new research suggests.
Scientists expect stronger hurricanes under climate change, and possibly even more frequent storms â especially those at category 3 and higher. But New York City and much of the seaboard will be at lower risk of taking a direct hit, the study published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said.
Then today this study's results are being reported:
Climate Change Doubles Likelihood of Sandy-Level Floods in NYC
By Andrew Freedman
Climate Central -- As the anniversary of Hurricane Sandy approaches, a new study points to the rapidly escalating risk of Sandy-magnitude flooding events in the New York City area. The study, published Thursday in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, found that sea level rise has already doubled the annual probability of a Sandy-level flood in New York City since 1950.
Rising seas are a consequence of manmade global warming, as well as local shifts in land surface elevations. Sea level rise has accelerated in recent years, from a rate of 1.7 millimeters per year between 1901 to 2010, up to 3.2 millimeters per year between 1993 and 2010.
Depending on how much sea levels increase by the end of the century, the study said Sandy-like flooding could occur once every few decades in Manhattan, and on the order of once a year in parts of New Jersey and coastal Connecticut.
Both studies predict Climate Change will spawn more potential Sandys in the future but differ on the likely tracks these hurricanes will take. It would be interesting to see a comparison and analysis of the methodologies the two studies used.
In any case some of the people impacted by Sandy are facing a stark new reality altered by Climate Change as they try to rebuild.
$20,000 a year for flood insurance? Sandy survivors face tough rebuilding choices
By Miranda Leitsinger, Staff Writer, NBC News
TOMS RIVER, N.J. â Thousands of homeowners in New York and New Jersey impacted by Hurricane Sandy are facing a tough choice that may thwart their efforts to rebuild: Comply with costly new federal construction guidelines or prepare to pay annual flood insurance rates that could top $20,000.
New federal flood maps released in June showed a total of 68,000 structures in New York City and thousands more in New Jersey were in flood zones. Now, affected homeowners are being forced to make drastic changes to their residences, such as elevating them on pilings, or incur punishing new insurance premiums that will take effect by mid-2015. Given the new rules, many Sandy survivors are grappling with whether they should alter their properties â or leave.
I don't think there are many climate denialists setting flood insurance rates these days. The insurance industry knows America's Atlantic and Gulf coastlines in particular are slowly retreating. They see the increase in extreme weather events reflected in their claims, and in their all important bottom lines.