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Melanie Chu Melissa Hagerman Aleek Datta |
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Hurricane Floyd produced torrential downpours and flooding across New Jersey. Hardest hit was the Raritan River Basin in the north-central part of the State, which received seven to eleven inches of rain in less than 24 hours. The main stem of the Raritan River at Bound Brook set a new peak of record on 9/17/99 at 42.13 feet. This is the highest stage since at least 1800.
Below is map of the path Hurricane Floyd took, directly over central New Jersey.
The following pages represent an analysis on Bound Brook to determine the specific types of people that were affected by the flooding in that area. Data was gathered from information at the ESRI site, specifically using TIGER street files, 1990 census data by block and block group, along with other files that contain relevant features, such as roads and rivers. Please note that you can click on each image to see an larger view of the image. Afterwards, click back on your browser to return to this page.
Bound Brook is bordered by two water bodies on its western and southern borders. To the south lies the Delaware and Raritan Canal as well as the Raritan River. On its western face lies Middle Brook.
The majority of the flooding occurred in the southern regions of Bound Brook. The green line visible in the diagram represents the 100 year flood plain, which is also an accurate representation of the area that was flooded. This area can be analyzed based upon ethnicity (African American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian), age and economic factors such as aggregate value and mean rent.
Ethnic Distribution in Bound Brook
As stated previously, the population of Bound Brook is a conglomerate of a variety of ethnic backgrounds. The diversity in ethnicity is what makes Bound Brook unique. Unfortunately, during the flooding, all of the different ethnic groups were endangered. The following maps show the ethnic distribution of Bound Brook residents affected by the flood.
As you can see, all of the ethnic groups in Bound Brook were affected by the flood, some more so than others. The chart on the left breaks down the ethnic distribution of the flood victims. The majority of the flood victims were Caucasian, followed by Hispanics.
This graph represents the percentage of each ethnic group affected by the flooding. For example, 64% of the total Hispanic population and 41% of the total Caucasian population of Bound Brook were affected by the flooding caused by Hurricane Floyd.
Age Distribution in Bound Brook
As seen in the map to the left, twenty one to eighty one persons within the floodplain were under the age of eighteen.
Next, we see that 63 to 215 persons affected by the flooding were between the ages of eighteen to sixty five years old.
Finally, twelve to twenty persons within the floodplain affected were above the age of sixty five years old.
In the flooding caused by Hurricane Floyd, the majority of those affected were between the ages of 18 to 65. One conclusion that can be drawn from this graph is that the hardest hit age group were those who were already settled, or were in the process of settling. Unfortunately, this portion of the population will have the most difficult time rebuilding their lives.
This graph represents the percentage of each age group affected by the flooding.
Mean Rent for Floodplain
This map exhibits the range of mean rent in the Bound Brook area. In the areas most affected by the flood, the mean rent was between $528 to $575. This conclusion implies that the area most affected was occupied by the people with smaller incomes than in other areas of Bound Brook.
Note: All conclusions made in this report were based upon data taken from within the 100 year floodplain. Though this data provides insight upon the extent of the damage done by Hurricane Floyd, it is only preliminary data. Official data has yet to be published, and further analysis can take place when such data is released.