The Great Nor'easter of 2076
The Great Nor'easter of 2076 was a hybrid storm, combining elements of both a hurricane and a blizzard that changed Boston forever. And became a wake-up call for the rest of the world.
Fueled by humanity's stubborn reliance on fossil fuels like coal and oil well into the 22nd century, a harsh reality unfolded. Only the ultra-wealthy could afford the exorbitant costs of these dwindling resources. The consequence? A cascade of environmental disasters. Rising sea levels swallowed coastal cities, transforming them into submerged graveyards. Melting ice caps and glaciers further fueled the crisis. Oceans, choked by increased carbon dioxide, became acidic wastelands. Humanity was thrown into a desperate fight for survival. Extreme weather events, once anomalies, became the grim norm.
In the years leading up to this storm, Earth gave many warnings to the Bostonians, but with stubborn attitudes, most of them shrugged and said things like 'We've dealt with worst.' A few of the warning signs were increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, prolonged droughts, winters becoming erratic, and hurricanes in the Atlantic becoming more frequent and destructive. Weeks before the storm hit, Earth shared more warnings like unusually warm autumn to a sudden cold snap, and then a series of intense blizzards pummeled the Northeast, dumping record-breaking amounts of snow.
This storm, fueled by warmer ocean temperatures, combines a hurricane's ferocity with a blizzard's fury. Hurricane-force winds and heavy rains whip through the city, tearing down trees, power lines, and communication towers. Simultaneously, the blizzard half unleashes blinding snow and creates treacherous whiteout conditions. The storm surge, amplified by high tides, surpasses all predictions. Within hours, water breaches the seawalls in multiple locations. Floodwaters cascade into the city, engulfing streets, subway tunnels, and basements. The snow added even more infrastructure damage, destroying buildings from the top while the water destroyed everything at sea level and below.
The Great Nor'easter of 2076 lasted five days, with the third day being the most intense part of the storm.
Once the storm had weakened enough for search and rescue to start, huge obstacles became apparent. First, due to how many feet of snow came down, many units had to dig themselves out. This process took days in some places. Once dug out, another issue blocked their path, literally chunks of Boston, trees, buildings, and other debris sat in their way. Many units had to use boats where they could, and many more had to walk to reach affected areas.
Due to the communication getting knocked out early in the storm, getting help from other states was delayed for days and a few times weeks. Many amphibious aircraft, like privately owned floatplanes from Martha's Vineyard and other close by areas, started flying people out of there and relocating many in make-shift shelters in Western Massachusetts. Eventually, the government at the time started to send in flying boats and helicopters to help speed up the process.
It took several weeks to get all survivors out of the flooded areas of Boston, but it was just the tip of the figurative iceberg (since 99% of them had melted before the storm hit). It would take decades to clean up and 'rebuild' Boston according to what Earth decided the new layout would be.
Type
Natural
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