Assessment of Hurricane Sandy damage and resulting loss in ecosystem services in a coastal-urban setting

- Assesses damage from Hurricane Sandy and value of lost ecosystem services within NYC.
- Moderate flooding and sand deposition were the most prevalent types of damage.
- Most degradation occurred in low salt marsh habitat.
- Compared with Hurricane Katrina, damage from Hurricane Sandy to built and natural capital was largely lower.
- Total possible losses of up to US$ 6.5 million in ecosystem services resulted from damage.

We quantified the location and extent of damage from Hurricane Sandy in habitats within the complex coastal-urban region of Jamaica Bay, New York and calculated the values of ecosystem services (ESV) lost. Results were compared with those from Hurricane Katrina. We found that moderate flooding and sand deposition were the most prevalent types of damage, and they caused the most degradation to low salt marsh habitat. Compared with Hurricane Katrina, damage from Hurricane Sandy to built and natural capital was generally lower for almost all categories except beach erosion. This was especially damaging due to the high levels of disturbance prevention ecosystem services beaches and dunes provide. Our impact index revealed that the majority of damage was minimal in severity (60%) and would likely be reversed within five years (62%), with a total possible loss of up to US$ 6.5 million for Jamaica Bay, NY. We demonstrated the use of our results to identify vulnerable areas for protection and restoration, and to calculate gains in ESVs in each scenario. By quantifying the location, extent and type of damage from Hurricane Sandy and the ESVs lost, we can provide another dimension to protection and restoration efforts in this sensitive coastal-urban region.