Sandy floods World Trade Center site; damage assessment underway

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the World Trade Center site sustained excessive flooding as a result of Hurricane Sandy. “The Hudson River was literally pouring into the Ground Zero site with such a force we were worried about the structure of the pit itself,” Gov. Cuomo said today during a press conference, Crain’s reported.

Images on television news channels last night showed a heavy load of water flowing into the site — the plot resembling an urban waterfall at the height of the storm. The WTC site is surrounded by West, Washington and Cedar streets – all of which flooded. Ramps that allow vehicles pass underground last night doubled as water chutes for the storm surge.

According to Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the floods likely did not cause any structural damage at the site, but equipment and electrical systems there may have sustained damage. He said that an assessment is underway and is being treated as a high priority.

“I think it’s fair to say that salt water and modern electrical equipment don’t mix well,” Foye said. [Crain’s] — Zachary Kussin