Coastal Hazard Areas

Coastal Hazard Areas. New London Waterfront Park. , Although the harbor is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by the natural breakwaters of Long Island and Fishers Island, New London is still vulnerable to the potential destructive forces that can occur from tidal and riverine flooding, and hurricanes. Two of New London's four borders are subject to regular tidal inundation and many businesses and homes are in flood zones or flood-prone areas. , Hurricanes are intense cyclonic storms originating in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. They are characterized by low barometric pressures, winds of 75 miles per hour or greater, heavy clouds, torrential rain, tremendous waves and tidal surges. Over the last 100 years, a total of eight hurricanes have hit the southern Connecticut shoreline (1903, 1938, 1944, 1954, 1960, 1972, 1985 and 1991). The strongest storms to hit the area so far have been Category 3 hurricanes with sustained winds of 110 to 130 mph. , In 1984, in an effort to protect the City from future hurricane damage, a new Shaw's Cove Bridge, located just south of the Waterfront Park, was constructed in conjunction with the creation of a hurricane protection barrier. The stone riprap that is evident along the shore of the southern half of the Park was built as part of that effort. , ( photo captions ) , , The most destructive storm to hit Connecticut was the Great New England Hurricane of 1938. It's also known as the "Long Island Express" because it covered seven states in seven hours. It arrived in New London the afternoon of Wednesday, September 21, 1938. , , A storm surge that occurred a short time before high tide pushed a wall of water directly into the Ocean Beach area damaging or destroying hundreds of summer cottages and buildings. , , The wind and waves swept into the downtown waterfront in big and hard surges smashing, tearing and ripping apart the wharves and piers. Ships were destroyed or hurled on to land. The 1,000-ton lighthouse tender Tulip was driven into the shore and onto the railroad tracks. It took almost took weeks to haul the steamer off the tracks. , , Devastation was caused by winds and floodwater but much damage was also due to a massive fire, which started on the waterfront and spread to Bank Street. (The front porch of the Shaw-Perkins mansion can be seen on the right in the photo.) Flames driven by 100-mph winds quickly threatened to burn through the entire downtown area. The spectacular blaze wiped out an area of about a quarter of a square mile and completely destroyed 14 buildings.