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Many needs

Measures called for include:

• Raising some rail lines and signals above projected flood levels.

• Waterproofing subways and electronics sensitive to salt water.

• Greater attention to the drinking water supply. The state's 30- and 40-year-old wastewater systems statewide were overwhelmed by storms the past two years, the report stated.

• Burying key energy lines underground to reduce damage from downed wires.

• A rapid bus transit network in dedicated lanes to reduce dependence on subways in lower Manhattan and allow exits to outer boroughs.

• Well-stocked and disaster-protected safe havens with generators in schools, hospitals and government buildings as well as big-box stores and shopping malls willing to be sanctuaries in exchange for incentives and support.

• Greater coordination with New Jersey and Connecticut in girding against the next storms.

• Adding water pumps at airports with emergency generators that with other measures would have kept airports open during Sandy. The report notes airports are a critical piece in long-term relief efforts.

• Hiring a New York chief to analyze risk and act upon it, replacing separate efforts by agencies.

• Allowing the growth of new grasses in wetland such as the Fire Island Wilderness breach. This would among the natural and man-made barriers, which could increase public access to the shore and reduce “urban heat island effects.”

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ALBANY, N.Y. — Floodgates for tunnels, subways and airports as well as a network of safe havens such as old Civil Defense shelters should be among quick, simple preventive measures that New York installs before storms, according to the full report by an expert panel examining Superstorm Sandy's effects in the state.

The 205-page report obtained by The Associated Press calls for two more tunnels out of Manhattan, a rapid bus system and another Long Island Rail Road track, and details how to better pay for it all by forging new partnerships with companies and several ways to improve insurance coverage for the state and residents.

Some elements of the report were presented last week, but the report wasn't released publicly. The full report was delivered to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is expected to include some recommendations in his State of the State speech on Wednesday.

The report includes other recommendations that are already used in other states and countries, many at little or no cost. It recommends partnerships with private businesses for several projects and combining already-budgeted or planned routine maintenance or capital projects with measures to protect against disaster.

“We tried to think about what was going to be most effective for emergencies, but what do you also want to have in just a normal, high-functioning 21st-century system?” said Judith Rodin, co-chairwoman of the NYS 2100 Commission.

Previous drafts of the report focused on barrier islands and man-made barriers as well as inflatable “plugs” to close off subways and closures for air vents. Though they are elements of the report, they are among many recommendations.

“There is no single fix,” Rodin said.

Sandy is the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm damaged or destroyed 305,000 housing units in New York and more than 265,000 businesses were disrupted there, officials have said.

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