How a Category 5 hurricane could wipe out New York City for good

Red Hook, “the most vulnerable New York neighborhood, no longer exists,” writes Stephen Marche in his new book, “The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future” (Simon & Schuster), out Tuesday. “Several witnesses report seeing a baby floating in a stroller.”

Even when the water starts to recede, the damage is unprecedented.

“Prospect Park isn’t Prospect Park anymore,” continues Marche. “The trees have tumbled. Whole families are curled up inside the sweep of horizontal branches. People are sleeping under the bushes, in a daze of upended lives.”

The bridges in and out of Manhattan are flooded, as are the airports. Soon, most of New York is underwater, and the power goes out across the city. The governor calls in the National Guard, and 100,000 soldiers make their way into downtown Manhattan.