For Immediate Release
Press Release
Contact: Ryan Murphy
631.702.1700
Town of Southampton, NY April 10, 2023 — The Town of Southampton Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management has started to utilize the MyCoast NY app. to document and track flooding and storm damage in the Town.
MyCoast NY is a platform for sharing and viewing photos of flooding, storm damage, and shoreline change. The tool automatically links photos to the closest weather station data, tidal gauges for the coast, and river or lake gauges for inland locations. “Being able to link photos to tide and river gauge data allows us to get a visual of what these future predictions will look like, on the ground,” commented Hudson Estuary Specialist Jessica Kuonen, from New York Sea Grant (NYSG), which is the cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY) that is championing the MyCoast program. Connecting these photos of actual observed conditions will allow us to better predict the possible impacts of similar storms in future forecasts.
“This app will allow us to benefit from a degree of crowdsourcing to obtain flooding, coastal erosion and storm damage information throughout the Town,” said Southampton Town Emergency Manager Ryan Murphy. “In the Emergency Operations Center we will be able to view pictures of conditions in the field as soon as they are submitted via MyCoast NY. These images are also shared with the National Weather Service staff who can utilize them to verify forecasts and improve warning operations,” Murphy said.
Supervisor Jay Schneiderman commented, “We have pushed the MyCoast app information out to our Town employees and I know many of our Public Safety and Emergency Management staff members are already users on the app. Knowledge is power and helps to drive better, and more informed decisions during and after weather emergencies. We encourage our residents to submit photos through the MyCoast NY app.”
“Thanks to strong documentation of pre- and post-storm conditions related to the December 23, 2022 Winter Storm, the Town was recently approved to submit for 75% Federal reimbursement on costs associated with addressing significant beach erosion. Now we will be able to document these conditions even better with the public’s help,” said Murphy.
Residents are encouraged to visit MyCoast.org/NY to learn more. In order to start sharing photos residents just need to download the MyCoast app, register, snap a photo and submit the photo report.
Town of Southampton
27 Ponquogue Avenue
Hampton Bays, NY 11946
Public Safety and Emergency Management
Telephone 631 702-1700
Fax 631 283-2694
Ryan Murphy
Town Code Compliance & Emergency Management Admi
