A new report looking at the risk of homes exposed to hurricane-driven storm surge damage in ten major urban areas along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts finds that the majority of homes in those communities that are in designated surge zones are not included in local flood zones. In Virginia Beach, for example, 87 percent […]
Tag Archives | case study
Are You an Emergency Manager? Why You Need Social Media (and it needs you)
Posted on April 19, 2011
A new article from USA Today takes another look at how emergency management officials are using social media. We’ve seen these before, but each one adds new evidence to this simple idea: If you’re working in emergency management and NOT using social media, you’re hampering your ability to do you job. This study from the […]
Another Radio Show on Massachusetts’s Rising Sea Levels
Posted on April 8, 2011
This time, from WGBH: Rising Sea Levels Threaten Massachusetts Coast, Sea Walls There’s no question about it. Sea levels are rising. 65 acres of Massachusetts coastline is taken back by the sea each year. Over the last century, ocean waters have crept up a full foot along the New England coast and new research shows […]
Massachusetts StormSmart Coasts Pilot Project Communities Now Online
Posted on April 7, 2011
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management has added informational pages about each of their 2009-2011 StormSmart Coasts Pilot Projects. You can read about them here: * Boston – Coastal Inundation Mapping and Regulatory Review * Hull – Freeboard Incentive and Storm Surge Visualization * Duxbury, Kingston, and Plymouth – Coastal Hazards Awareness * Falmouth […]
Radio Show Clip on Sea Level Rise in New England
Posted on April 5, 2011
From WBUR.org: “Many Worry About Rising Sea Levels In The Northeast” (Click on the “listen now” button, then skip to 4:15.) Not a lot of good news here, but interesting to see how the “retreat” option is now a standard part of these discussions. Could we be seeing the start of a mind-shift?
“Not everything we love can be saved’’
Posted on April 4, 2011
Hard truths from a local official facing sea level rise in his community. “Fighting a losing battle with the sea” The Boston Globe
Four New Case Studies on Climate Change Adaptation for Water Utilities
Posted on March 29, 2011
Tying in with their Climate Ready Water Utilities program, the EPA has released four case studies looking at specific adaptation steps communities are taking. The communities are East Bay (CA), New York City, Seattle (WA), and Spartanburg (SC). You can download the case study from EPA’s website.
New Research on the Benefits and Detriments of Coastal Armoring
Posted on March 4, 2011
A new paper looking at structural shore protection in Massachusetts and Hawaii finds a few things to like, and a lot to cause consternation. Among the benefits: Stabilizes the upland Protects infrastructure Maintains property values for some . . . And the detriments: Source sediment impoundment resulting in increased erosion of the fronting and adjacent […]
While the Debate Continues, Sea Levels Keep Rising [CASE STUDY]
Posted on December 1, 2010
Interesting article on how one town (Norfolk, VA) is struggling with rising sea levels and shrinking budgets. If only this were a novel conundrum. . . . “Front-Line City in Virginia Tackles Rise in Sea“.
Oak Bluffs Passes Forward-Thinking Floodplain Regulation
Posted on November 2, 2010
The community of Oak Bluffs has joined Chatham (PDF) in passing a progressive bylaw that should help guide safe development in their coastal floodplains. Here’s the blurb from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management’s ever-useful CZ-Mail: On September 16, the Oak Bluffs Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to adopt special permit regulations (PDF, […]