The newest issue of the Magazine for National Security and Crisis Management of the Netherlands has a 2-page special about lessons learned from hurricane Sandy. It is downloadable here, in Dutch (page 50-51).
The article mainly refers to five previously made Dutch studies which already had recommendations to improve New York City's disaster prevention. The lessons drawn remain relevant however, and include:
-building codes for areas outside FEMA designated flood plains as other models show these areas will also flood
-adapting the building codes to expected climate change by including the long term risks
-more stringent requirements for buildings with a high social function
-research cheaper measures than raising buildings during scheduled renovations
-use spatial planning to stimulate developing safe areas
-prioritize protecting vital infrastructure such as metro lines
Investing in a more robust infrastructure, such as a levee system comparable to the Dutch situation, would cost around 15-25 billion euro and is seen as politically sensitive given the current economic crisis.
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