The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently completed a report that seeks to address how to manage flood risk to vulnerable coastal populations. This report, authorized by Congress following Hurricane Sandy, is the result of two years of collaboration with key stakeholders including federal, state, regional, and local governments, as well as NGOs, tribes, and academia.
The report is known as the North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study.
BACKGROUND:
Managing coastal flood risk is complex. There are economic, social, and environmental factors to consider, layers of governments involved, and dozens of ways to reduce risk, from using manmade features like levees and seawalls to using natural features like salt marshes and maritime forests. Because every location is different, there is no default 'best' solution. Therefore what matters most is a common methodology that public and private interests can follow together to assess risk and identify solutions. This methodology, as recommended in the study, is the Coastal Storm Risk Management Framework.
This nine-step framework is informed by several planning tools and models that are included in the report. To further manage the risk of coastal flood damage, the report also proposes better institutional alignment and financing; better use of pre-storm planning and post-storm monitoring tools, and better education on flood risk and the availability of flood risk-management solutions.
The report also identifies nine high-risk areas that warrant additional analysis. They are: Rhode Island Coastline; Connecticut Coastline; New York-New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries; Nassau County Back Bays, NY; New Jersey Back Bays; Delaware Inland Bays and Delaware Bay Coast; City of Baltimore; Washington, DC; City of Norfolk. …...more
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