Bolstering critical infrastructure resilience after superstorm Sandy: lessons for New York and the nation

Superstorm Sandy left in its wake an estimated $68 billion of damages and millions of disrupted lives. The energy, transport, communications, water, and health sectors for the New York/New Jersey metro-region were all seriously compromised. Once again, Americans received a wake-up call about the growing fragility of the nation's critical lifeline infrastructures in the face of human-induced and naturally-occurring disasters. Bolstering regional capacity to better withstand, more nimbly recover, and adapt to disruptive events is a national imperative the US neglect at their peril.