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 of surge-inundation zone properties, »read moreTags: case study, hazard identification, mapping, research
Tags: case study, emergency services, technology
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, »read moreTags: adaptation & mitigation, building, case study, infrastructure, research
Tags: adaptation & mitigation, case study, infrastructure, planning, weather & climate
The community of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts 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, »read moreTags: case study, legal, planning, regulations
Tags: adaptation & mitigation, building, case study, insurance, regulations
The New York Times has created a mesmerizing and troubling (and clever) webpage that allows you to virtually drive down two streets in New Orleans's Lower Ninth Ward in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. The animation stops at various properties along the way, so you can see how certain buildings have fared (some gone, some repaired, some still sitting much as, »read moreTags: case study, funding & assistance, insurance
The Red Cross has released the results of a survey of just over 1,000 respondents on how people use and expect to use social media during a disaster. The results are pretty striking.
A couple of highlights:
Nearly 3-in-4 respondents use at least one online community or social network. Facebook was by far the most popular (58%). And MySpace still has a, »read moreTags: case study, emergency services, technology, training & outreach
After Hurricane Ike bashed a hole in their roof and left their first floor uninhabitable, FEMA experts recommended that Galveston (TX) residents Matt and Lauren Johnson elevate their home 3' above the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program.
The Johnsons went for 12' instead.
“Even if it costs us more now, whatever costs us less, »read moreTags: adaptation & mitigation, building, case study, funding & assistance, planning
A Florida county has released new storm surge maps, and they're giving locals a more precise idea of their risks of being hit by the storm surge associated with a hurricane. Tampa Bay Online has the whole story.
As the article reports, Hillsborough County has based the maps on revised models from the National Hurricane Center. The old maps were based on, »read moreTags: case study, emergency services, Florida, hazard identification, training & outreach
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