The Capital Weather Gang did a thing about what would have happened if the storm surge was in DC instead of NYC.

Even included a graphic.

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The panel in the lower right corner is a 5 meter storm surge, which I think is what NYC got. So that's what we would have seen if Sandy steered a little south.
Apparently most of the Smithsonian museums and several Federal Buildings would be flooded to some extent.

I recently remembered reading about a levee system they were building down on the mall, and at the time it seemed unnecessary. But I guess it really is a good idea. So I went down there at lunch, and this it what they just built.

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It's about 8 feet tall. Apparently there is a gate they can drop into place across the street when a storm is getting close.

It goes right here:
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I wonder if it will be high enough. I also wonder if there are other levees being built that I just haven't seen. I get the feeling there are a few other low paths into that part of the city.

Just returned from 'disaster area' cleanup. No buildings seriously damaged. Found a 3 inch by 3 inch piece from a nearby roof. Piles of swamp hay, carried in by flooding water, are massive. Most homes are only vacation homes. People emptying garages to hose it out. A few homes, built defectively, have soaked furniture and rugs. This was ground zero for the local gossip's 'end of the earth' reporting.

Most damage occurred elsewhere. Noted early on were so many trees still with leaves. Areas suffering, because of no electricity, may be without power for two weeks. Large trees felled by winds are far from where local gossip was reporting.

A friend just returned to her lower Manhattan apartment after sleeping on other's floors for four day. And walking to work. Flooding apparently drove rats upstairs. She found 'mouse' dropping everywhere. She is unhappy. Local gossip did not report that disaster.

The hurricane season has officially ended. Meanwhile odds of one more tropical storm currently forming in the Atlantic are good. It is on a same track that previous storms used to tour Europe.