NOAA’s National Ocean Service

Responding to Hurricane Sandy

In October 2012, the hybrid cyclone-nor’easter known as Hurricane Sandy roared toward the 

mid-Atlantic Coast. The reach of the storm was astonishing, with rain and high winds from the 

East Coast to the Great Lakes and snow across Appalachia. Even as the hurricane transitioned 

to a post-tropical cyclone, wind, waves, and storm surge wreaked havoc especially along the 

coasts of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. More than 100 lives were lost. Damage 

estimates are in the billions of dollars.

NOAA’s National Ocean Service helps coastal communities prepare for and recover from storms 

like Hurricane Sandy.

Positioning America for the Future
Within hours of the passing of the storm, NOS efforts focused on navigation 

surveys to restore maritime commerce; aerial surveys to assist in those efforts and 

to aid on-the-ground responders from FEMA and local authorities; and oil spill 

cleanup and damage assessment. 

Reopening Ports—the Lifeline of Recovery 

NOS’s Office of Coast Survey teams completed surveys of the Port of New York 

and New Jersey to help the port reopen, allowing emergency fuel and other supplies 

to move into the affected area. Over five days, Office of Coast Survey teams worked 

aboard NOAA hydrographic survey vessels, including two navigation response 

teams (NRTs) and the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson with her two survey launches, 

to search approximately 20 square nautical miles of shipping lanes, channels, and 

terminals to locate dangers to navigation. 

Surveys completed by NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler and R/V Bay Hydro II

helped re-open the Port of Baltimore and the port complex at Hampton Roads 

where naval vessels and ships carrying coal exports were waiting for clearance. 

Surveys by NRTs and R/V Potawaugh provided valuable data for ships transiting the 

Delaware River and ferry service that connects Lewes, Del., and Cape May, N.J.—

an important access route to bring aid to stricken New Jersey and Delaware shore 

communities.

Preparing for the Historic Storm

Before, during, and after the storm, NOS monitored and 

disseminated observations of water levels, currents, and 

weather information in real time. This information helped 

coastal authorities prepare for, mitigate, and respond to 

the storm tides flooding our coast. The NOS’s Center 

for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services 

(CO-OPS) operates a network of oceanographic and 

meteorological stations along U.S. coastlines and Great 

Lakes whose data is also integrated directly into NOAA’s 

National Hurricane Center storm surge forecasts. 

Throughout the storm, CO-OPS regularly posted and 

updated its Storm Quicklook, a synopsis of locations most 

affected by severe storm tides. Providing real time data to 

emergency responders when they most need it helps save 

lives and property. 

NOS also coordinates the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing 

System (IOOS®). IOOS partners along the East Coast 

provided vital information such as hourly updates from 

wind, wave, visibility, and air and water temperature sensors; high-frequency radar ocean current data; coastal wave 

forecasts; and even water temperature information from an ocean glider deployed off the New Jersey coast. 

The entire East Coast needed to know, with as much precision as possible, what to expect from storm surge. NOS’s 

Office of Coast Survey’s Development Lab (CSDL) provided essential data and analysis to the National Hurricane 

Center, which used it to verify tidal data. Additionally, CSDL’s physically realistic models captured previously 

unavailable storm parameters, which gave forecasters more realistic scenarios of the storm’s devastation. Office of Coast 

Survey pre-staged regional navigation managers, embedding them into command centers and setting up coordination 

for rapid deployment of survey assets necessary for resumption of maritime traffic at ports and anchorages.

Immediately after the Storm Passed

I want to send my thanks 

to the NOAA staff who put 

together the Sandy Imagery 

Viewer so quickly. As with 

many other New Jersey and 

Mid Atlantic residents, my 

family has been worried 

about the shape our house 

and neighborhood was in 

after the storm. Finally 

seeing that the house is 

standing in one piece (along 

with neighboring houses) is 

a big relief. 

Resident of Lavallette, N.J., 

11/01/2012

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CO-OPS Storm QuickLook product integrating water level information with 

the National Hurricane Center projected storm path.
Damage Assessment Imagery— Capturing the 

Devastation to Help Recovery and Rebuilding

As of November 7, 2012, National Geodetic Survey’s remote 

sensing program continues to conduct aerial photographic surveys 

of the battered coast. Crews flying in NOAA’s King Air and Twin 

Otter turboprop aircraft surveyed over 3,000 miles of coastline, and 

collected and processed over 10,000 images to document coastal 

damage and impacts to navigation. There have been more than 27 

million visits to the storm emergency response website (http://storms.

ngs.noaa.gov/storms/sandy/). FEMA uses NOAA’s imagery to assess 

damages, expedite claims from the public, and project temporary 

housing needs.

The imagery provides emergency and coastal managers with the 

information they need to develop recovery strategies, facilitate searchand-rescue efforts, identify hazards to navigation and HAZMAT spills, locate errant vessels, and provide documentation 

necessary for damage assessment through the comparison of before-and-after imagery. It also provides a useful tool to 

private citizens for assessing damage to public and private properties in their community.

Pollution Response

NOS’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) is providing scientific support to the U.S. Coast Guard in responding 

to a significant spill at the Motiva Refinery in Sewarren, N.J., as well as support for cleanup and assessment of several 

small spills scattered throughout northern New Jersey’s refinery areas. OR&R is also on-scene working with state and 

federal co-trustee agencies to lead a preliminary assessment of natural resource impacts from the spills for possible natural 

resource damage assessment claims and restoration. In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard and other responders are now using 

OR&R’s Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) as the common operational application for 

pollution response.

Helping Communities Recover and Prepare for the Future

For weeks, months, even years after a hurricane has ravaged a coastal community, NOS continues its work. 

Providing Water Level and Meteorological Data Reports and tools

CO-OPS provides storm tide and meteorological data reports following extreme weather events. For Hurricane Sandy, the 

coast from the Florida Keys to Maine was the area monitored, with the most significant storm tides observed from New 

Jersey to Connecticut. The storm set a number of record storm tide levels. CO-OPS also provides online tools for extreme 

water levels and frequency of inundation. Coastal planners use these reports and tools to design coastal communities, 

infrastructure and shoreline protection to safe elevations above storm tides. 

Before-and-after images of the storm’s destruction along the New Jersey coastline.

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NOAA’s Environmental Response Management Application 

(ERMA) showing potential storm surge from the nor’easter layered 

over Sandy’s storm surge actual boundaries.
Assessing the Environmental Impact of Contaminants

NOS’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and its partners have assessed 

the state of contamination along America’s coasts for decades. When disasters like 

hurricanes strike, federal and state officials use NOS’s historical records of contaminants 

in oyster tissue and samples of sediment and water to evaluate whether restoration 

efforts are on track. NCCOS also models how coastal ecosystems respond to climate 

change and evaluates approaches for preserving and protecting fragile coastal habitats.

Assessing the Damage to Coastal Marshes

NOS’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management is working with state 

partners to measure the storm’s impacts on coastal marshes and provide baseline data 

needed to support future assessments.

Maps and Data Analysis

NOAA’s Coastal Services Center is providing access to the satellite and aerial images 

needed to generate the maps used to understand the long-term effects of the storm. 

These data products include pre-hurricane imagery and digital elevation data from a 

variety of sources and maps depicting wetlands loss along the coast. Much of the data, 

tools, and training needed by the nation’s coastal communities are provided through NOAA’s Digital Coast for the express 

purpose of helping communities protect themselves from coastal hazards. Special guidance was posted to make users aware 

of the available recovery-related resources. As the recovery progresses, resources accessible via the Digital Coast will help 

coastal communities envision and obtain a new future.

Helping Communities Recover

NOS’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management is helping communities recover. Through the National Coastal 

Zone Management Program, NOS’s state coastal management program partners are on the ground surveying storm 

damage; issuing emergency permits to enable debris removal, rebuilding, and habitat restoration; and meeting with local 

communities and property owners to begin to discuss recovery and long-term resilience strategies.

The National Coastal Zone Management Program and National Estuarine Research Reserves are also coordinating closely 

with federal and other partners to bring the latest information, technical assistance, and geospatial and monitoring data to 

the recovery efforts. 

oceanservice.noaa.gov - November 2012

Integrated Coastal Management: 

Promoting Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Communities 

NOAA Coast Survey’s 

Navigation Response 

Team 5 starts their 

surveys from Sandy 

Hook Pilot base.

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We can’t thank you 

enough for all the 

work and coordination 

you have provided to 

minimize the impact to 

the maritime community 

and economy in the port 

of Hampton Roads. 

You have been key 

contributors/partners in 

this critical effort. 

U.S. Coast Guard Chief for 

Waterways Management

Sector Hampton Roads,

11/01/2012

Getting the surveys done, 

quickly but thoroughly, is 

extremely important to the 

nation’s economy. Over 

$200 billion of imports and 

exports moved through 

the Port of New York and 

New Jersy in 2011. It is the 

country’s third largest port, 

by value of cargo. 

Maritime news site gCaptain, 

11/02/2012

Storms like this highlight the fact that coastal America is more than beautiful beaches. 

Millions of Americans live in heavily populated coastal areas that are increasingly 

threatened by change. NOS’s coastal management programs provide national leadership 

to state and territory coastal management programs and estuarine research reserves 

to keep America’s coasts healthy and resilient. Bringing expertise across the range of 

biological, physical and social sciences, NOS works with state partners to preserve, 

protect, develop and, where possible, restore and enhance the nation’s coastal zone 

resources. 

As the communities impacted by the storm begin long-term planning, NOS stands 

ready to carry out additional activities including navigational surveys; coastal inundation 

modeling; assistance with planning for sea level rise; and providing communities with a 

range of technical expertise as they plan for future storms.