Will Climate Change Swamp the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island?

Lady in Waiting

Photograph courtesy US Library of Congress, National Geographic

On October 29, 2012, superstorm Sandy barreled toward New York City. Liberty and Ellis Islands, two relatively tiny pieces of land huddled together in the city's harbor, were dangerously exposed.

That's the peril of being American icons sitting in New York Harbor. It makes them beacons. It also makes them vulnerable.

The National Park Service team responsible for the joint monument had battened down the hatches and sandbagged the islands against a storm surge predicted to reach 6 to 11 feet. Then they'd boarded up the windows and evacuated both islands.

When Superintendent David Luchsinger and his team arrived on Tuesday morning, October 30, to assess the storm's damage, 75 percent of Liberty Island was under water. The only thing not covered was Liberty and her pedestal.

All of Ellis Island was under waterin some areas as much as eight feet.

"It was total destruction: windows blown out, doors blown out. The walkways were ripped up, all the basements were completely flooded. One dock was completely decimated, and the other one was pretty well destroyed," says Luchsinger.

"But while it was a very sad, sad day for us, we quickly realized it was also an opportunity to make this a more sustainable park. We began that day formulating our plans."

Cleanup started the next day and took about two monthsthe team working at first out of the back of a U-Haul with a couple of space heaters inside. Some structures, like Luchsinger's superintendent's house, weren't rebuilt. "I have the dubious distinction of being the last resident of Liberty Island," he says.

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Will Climate Change Swamp the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island?