James Alexander MBE’s Post

#Flooding #UK "... Interviews with more than a dozen scientists, engineers and politicians at the frontline of the country’s flood preparations reveal an uncomfortable truth. Climate change means that, perhaps more than at any other time since 1953, the U.K. faces precisely this kind of catastrophic flood risk — and whole new threats as well. The U.K.’s relative wealth and extensive flood defenses do not make it immune to climate risk. Rising sea levels, increased winter precipitation, and more regular, more intense rainstorms are all now priced into the country's future. And Whitehall isn’t prepared — at least not yet. “If a 1953 flood — which was ‘once in a century’ — becomes annual, what on Earth does a ‘once in a century’ storm look like?” said John Curtin, a former Environment Agency interim chief executive with more than 30 years experience in flood management, citing a “frightening” U.N. report which warned that “extreme sea level events that are historically rare” could be annual events by 2050. ... The government’s most recent national risk register, published last year, lists coastal flooding as a significant danger, made worse by rising sea levels. A “reasonable worst-case scenario” involves flooding “across the east coast of England, impacting a very large number of residential properties.” “A large number of people would require evacuation and shelter,” the paper said, warning there would likely be fatalities. For the first time, the register also said that “surface water flooding” from sustained rainfall could force people from their homes. For Curtin, a coastal surge remains the “biggest, scariest” scenario. A study last year, conducted by the Gallagher Research Centre and scientists at HR Wallingford, said that Hull in east Yorkshire, Skegness in Lincolnshire, Kings Lynn in Norfolk (just up the coast from Snettisham), Southend in Essex, and Sandwich in Kent could all be in the path of a future coastal flooding surge. Around 60,000 households would be at risk. ... But recent climate data has alarmed scientists. The U.K. has just seen its wettest 18 months on record and an unusually severe winter storm season. Flood alerts were issued in record-breaking numbers. In May, leading scientists said climate change had increased both total winter rainfall and the intensity of rainstorms. “We weren't really prepared for the level of acceleration in climate change that we would see last year,” said Ivan Haigh, professor of ocean and earth science at Southampton University. “Coastal flooding, river flooding, surface flooding — all of those are going to increase in frequency … and there’s more property, more infrastructure in the flood plain than ever before.”  ... Foley would not be drawn on how many more properties may be classified "at risk." But Aaron Jones, flood risk director at Ashfield Solutions, said that, based on private sector data already used by insurers and mortgage lenders, he expected the number to rise to 7.5 ..."

Unless/until we address the reasons why problems don't get solved...they won't get solved. It sounds obvious. But, based on my observations, it's not. It's easier to divide into tribes, and claim the 'other' people (usually a political ideology/party, or social culture) don't know what they're doing. That's half-true. MOST people don't know what they're doing. Here's one of those key underlying fundamentals: Most of the people making decisions about the biggest issues/risks are either a) protected/immune from the worst of the impacts of their decisions and/or b) setup to financially gain in post-disaster recovery. If THAT doesn't change, nothing else will. #change #decisionmaking #systemsthinking #problemsolving #leadership

Err ... I think there's a problem! ER --- not Emission Reductions ... but Evacuation Route. ... and guess what, even the ER signs are not new. I googled to be sure before posting and found they were put in place first in 2015. Climate issues only got worse since then. We need to wake up. My hope is taking people's voices to those making decisions about the future - harnessing consumer demand, citizens' votes, investors capital and savings to create change. #rewiringourfuture Rewired Earth https://lnkd.in/eEsesrGf

July 10, 2024 - By Jake Bittle - GRIST, "The federal agency is overhauling its disaster rules in a bid to end a cycle of #rebuilding in unsafe areas. When the Federal Emergency Management Agency spends millions of dollars to help rebuild schools and hospitals after a hurricane, it tries to make the community more resilient than it was before the storm. If the agency pays to rebuild a school or a town hall, for example, it might elevate the building above the #floodplain, lowering the odds that it will get submerged again. That sounds simple enough, but the policy hinges on a deceptively simple question: How do you define “floodplain”? FEMA and the rest of the federal government long defined it as an area that has a 1 percent chance of #flooding in any given year. That so-called 100-year floodplain standard, though more or less arbitrary, has been followed for decades — even though thousands of #buildings outside the floodplain go underwater every year.   Now FEMA is expanding its definition of the floodplain, following an executive order from President Joe Biden that forced government agencies to tighten rules about how they respond to the increasing risk of #floods. In a significant shift, the new standard will require the agency to factor in the impact of #climatechange on future #floodrisk when it decides where and how it’s safe to build. The new rule will result in higher-elevated and better-fortified buildings and could help break a cycle of destruction and #reconstruction that has cost the government billions of dollars over the past few decades. In a press conference announcing the rule, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell hailed it as a significant change in how the government responds to #disasters. The rule “will allow us to enhance resilience in flood-prone communities by taking future flood risk into consideration when we rebuild structures post-disaster,” she said. “This is a huge win that will also allow us to end the repeat loss cycles that stem from flooding and increase the safety of families and save taxpayer dollars.”   Under the new rule, the agency will “integrate current and future changes in flooding based on climate science” when it estimates flood risk, factoring in #sealevelrise and intensified erosion that will get worse over the course of the century. This will be easiest in #coastalareas, where the science about sea level rise and flooding is well established. In riverine areas, where science is less robust, the agency will rebuild at least as high as the 500-year floodplain, or the land that has less than a 0.2 percent chance of flooding in a given year — and sometimes even higher for essential infrastructure such as bridges and hospitals. This is a dramatic shift from previous measurements, which relied on historical data to estimate future flooding. Because climate change has intensified..." #Naturaldisasters #Riskmanagement #Construction #Extremeweather #Homebuilding #Disasterrisk Continue reading

📢 This new FEMA rule will be a game-changer for communities stuck in a cycle of climate-driven disasters and rising flood damages – and save taxpayer money at the same time. Originally proposed in the Obama Administration, but rescinded days before Hurricane Harvey brought devastating #flooding to Houston, #FEMA has finalized the Federal Flood Risk Management Standards; this rule impacts all FEMA funding used for #infrastructure projects and federal buildings and aims to strengthen public infrastructure as communities face increasing climate-driven flood risks. Three big requirements: 🗺 FEMA is using a Climate-Informed Science Approach to consider both current and future flood risks. This is HUGE in a rapidly changing climate where we’re already seeing increases in #sealevelrise and #rainfall intensity, duration, and frequency. 🌳 Projects must consider nature-based solutions. #NBS can bring a multitude of benefits to ecosystems and communities, including natural #floodplain functions that help slow and store water during floods. 🏘 Structures must be elevated at least two feet above base flood elevation or be relocated to reduce flood risk. While this does increase costs, FEMA estimates it’s a 2% bump that will pay for itself by preventing future damages. Under-resourced local governments will still need additional support to make this workable, as they do with other federal funding programs. Local and state governments across the country have already implemented stronger floodplain management regulations because they know that higher standards save lives, properties, and money. FEMA’s new rule helps align federal spending of taxpayer dollars with a more accurate assessment of the nation’s current and future flood risk. https://lnkd.in/ew7s8Hhs #floodrisk #flooding #FFRMS #naturebasedsolutions #naturalinfrastructure #climatechange #climaterisk

With this week's flooding in Houston due to Hurricane Beryl, FEMA's new Federal Flood Risk Management Standard couldn't be more important to preventing loss of life and property. Flooding is becoming more extreme due to the climate crisis - we need to protect our communities and build our schools, hospitals, roads, and infrastructure out of harms way. We also need to address the root cause of the climate crisis by transitioning to a clean energy economy and a zero emissions building sector.

when thinkng locally but acting regionally or even nationally is the only real solution. Engineering needs a much broader definition that encompasses the principle comprehensions of ecologists and hydrological. Number one comprehension: water is not a problem, its a finite resource.

The recently released draft of the Executive Summary of the North Carolina Flood Resiliency Blueprint does not mention sea level rise in its 10 pages of text. For context, I was a coauthor of a Sea Level Rise report for the NC Coastal Resources Commission released in 2012 that drew the ire of the legislature and resulted in a bill that actually restricted state agencies from planning for accelerating SLR. This act of the legislature was widely ridiculed including by Stephen Colbert (link below). I thought we had moved past those days. I understand that climate change and sea level rise are touchy subjects, and government documents often strive to avoid using trigger words for those on one side of an issue or another. But, I don't know how you can possibly prepare for increased king tide/nuisance flooding, failing stormwater runoff systems, rising regional water tables, failing septic systems, and ghost forests without openly discussing the cause— rising sea level. It is like trying to treat cancer without understanding the cause. It didn't work out as well. The document is fine for flooding up the rivers and in western North Carolina, but it fails to adequately elucidate the real challenges of dealing with flooding at the coast. Perhaps there should be two separate documents and differing approaches. SLR will be a one-directional, long-term, issue for coastal communities. The only direction is up. It is a bigger threat to the coastal economy than the next tropical storm (although it will enhance those impacts as well). We have to be able to communicate this risk using straightforward language that doesn't condescend to those not excited to receive the news. We shouldn't avoid the term, we just need to do a better job explaining why it matters to farmers, fishers, and the generational families of places like downeast Carteret County. This is not meant as a criticism of those well-meaning folks trying to walk this tightrope. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. Thoughts? #SLR You can find the link to the document here: https://lnkd.in/ejZuxC3N

Hampton is ~30 minutes from me and NH has the smallest, < 15 miles (excludes Isles of Shoals), coastline in the US. If we're getting impacted by sea level rise, no one is immune. "About once a month in Hampton’s Meadow Pond neighborhood, residents deal with flood water. “This neighborhood, when it floods, can go days with having water on the roads, making it unsafe to travel, very dangerous in winter conditions,” said Jen Hale, Hampton’s Director of Public Works. It can happen on sunny days, when high tides bring water washing over the roads. Full moons and storms make things worse. And with climate change driving more extreme weather and rising sea levels, town officials know flooding concerns would likely get worse." https://lnkd.in/gkYkH7qV #atlanticocean #beach #beaches #climatechange #coastaladaptation #coastalresilience #expensive #extremeweather #floods #flooding #hamptonnh #homeelevation #kingtides #managedretreat #newhampshire #nh #sunnydayflooding

I am immensely grateful for the opportunity provided by Prof. Linda Shi to delve into the critical question: How can Coney Island adapt its housing to current and future flooding? This experience has significantly enhanced my understanding of resilience against climate change and climate risk financing. In collaboration with the CONEY ISLAND BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT and New York Aquarium, we engaged Coney Island and Seagate residents in a comprehensive planning to familiarize them about their risks, options, and visions for adaptation. We covered a wide range of topics, including elevation strategies, managed retreats, green infrastructures, land readjustments, current and future flood risks, organizations and stakeholders, housing in Coney Island, flood insurance and development, and floodplains regulation. Through extensive research and community input, we identified four key proposals: 1. Implementing green infrastructure to address high-frequency flooding, while recognizing its limitations as a standalone long-term solution due to increasing flood risks, high costs, and limited space. 2. Elevating existing properties to enhance resilience, which requires community collaboration on funding, expert assistance, and a comprehensive disaster management plan. 3. Facilitating voluntary managed retreat based on community consensus, providing the most secure and safe future against flooding but requiring difficult decisions about staying or moving to safer land. 4. Introducing land readjustment as an innovative, long-term strategy to finance flood-adapted developments, allowing residents to remain in resilient housing and livable neighborhoods, contingent upon the formation of land cooperatives, feasible financial incentives, and supportive legislation and zoning reforms.