Federal officials looking to better protect New York and New Jersey from disasters like Superstorm Sandy are examining a plan to create a string of islands off the coast.
The proposal by New Jersey's Stevens Institute of Technology and two architectural firms would pump sand onto hard bases to form a chain of islands designed to blunt the force of storm surges like the ones that caused billions of dollars damage in 2012.
The Blue Dunes proposal would cost an estimated $US10 billion ($A10.83 billion) to $US12 billion.
The islands would reach from central Long Island to the southern tip of Long Beach Island.
The proposal is part of the Rebuild By Design competition staged by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to look for bold new ideas in storm protection.
