Stormy Weather: IS 89 Students Prepare for the Worst

By Ronald Drenger

The kids, at least, will be prepared.

Eighth-graders at I.S. 89 presented an “Extreme Weather Expo” last month titled “Disaster in the Big Apple: Is New York City Ready?” From presentations on storm surge and tsunamis to global warming and disaster preparation, the students made it clear that you don’t have to live on the Gulf Coast or in the Southeast to think about hurricanes and severe flooding.

		“Our intention is to let people know that the city is very at risk,” said Ella Smithie, 14, a “public relations” team member who welcomed a reporter to the school’s fifth floor, where P.S. 89 and I.S. 89 students were viewing the expo. “When we started, very few students in the class knew that New York City could be hit by a hurricane like Katrina,” Smithie said. “Now we all know.”
Beginning with an analysis of Katrina, the students spent 10 weeks studying extreme weather and preparing the expo, guided by their science teacher, Erica Nash, and literacy teacher, Christina DiZebba.

To introduce the exhibits, Tess Scriptunas and Simone Senchak screened their film on what went wrong in New Orleans and how such a disaster can be prevented in New York. The film pulled no punches, noting that government officials were warned in advance that the city’s levees would be vulnerable in an extreme storm. The film ended with the message: “Make Levees Not War.”

At the storm surge booth, Jenny Yu used a blowdryer and two models—pans containing water and clay “coastlines” of different heights—to show how land elevation affects flood levels.

		“With higher elevation you’re not so much at risk,” Yu explained as she directed the “wind” at one model, then the next. “If you were standing on the first floor of I.S. 89,” she added, “it’s no more than 10 feet above sea level. The school could be flooded.” Nearby, Alik Robinson had a similarly frightening exhibit: a computer simulation with a color-coded map of the New York area, showing how far inland flooding would reach with different levels of storm surge.

Then there was Nestor Ouranitsas, Jack Shannon, Pace Lee and Guido Girgenti, who screened their own television “news report” titled “Will New York City Be Sleepin’ With the Fishes?” With Ouranitsas as the news anchor, the piece covered devastating flooding in Manhattan caused by “Hurricane Lisa.”

At the global warming booth (“Is it Getting Hot in Here?”), Erika Dejesus and Gabrielle Dann-Allel talked about the coming calamity from melting ice caps, rising sea levels, greenhouse gases and energy conservation. “If we do these things—recycle, save energy—I think we can prevent it,” Erika said. Gabrielle was less optimistic. “I’m very concerned,” she said. “Our presentation shows that it can still happen even if we take these steps.” Other kids offered guidance on preparing for a natural disaster, and information on evacuation routes. Their short film contrasted the approaches of two characters, Smar T. Pants (prepared) and Deuf Fuss (woefully unprepared). Maddy Rojas, one of the students at the booth, said she was following her own advice. “Now I have a ‘go bag’ and a supply kit at home,” Rojas said. “A disaster can happen at any time. You can’t wait till the last minute to prepare.”