Description
1) New Tools for Assessing and Communicating Sea Level and Coastal Flood Risk
Dan Rizza, Climate Central, drizza@climatecentral.org
Co-presenters: Kelly Van Baalen, Climate Central, kvanbaalen@climatecentral.org
Abstract: Floods already cause an average of over $5 billion in damages in the U.S. annually (FEMA 2022). With sea levels projected to rise about a foot and multiply the frequency of moderate flooding ten-fold by 2050 (NOAA 2022), it is more imperative than ever that floodplain managers have the tools they need to assess the risks posed by sea level rise and coastal flooding and communicate those risks to the public.
Climate Central provides many freely available online tools, maps, and visualizations, grounded in peer-reviewed research and informed by the needs of floodplain managers and other coastal stakeholders, for assessing and communicating sea level rise and coastal flood risk. These tools and visualizations have been shared by the news media thousands of times, used by millions of people, and featured at the UN climate conference. Since we last shared our offerings at the 2022 ASFPM conference, we have released a number of new tools. Our FloodVision™ (go.climatecentral.org/floodvision) technology provides precise elevation measurements and photorealistic visualizations of potential future flooding. Our Sinking Tax Base tool (climatecentral.org/tools/sinking-tax-base) provides county-level assessments of the risk sea level rise poses to private properties and the local taxes they generate. Our Wetlands maps (coastal.climatecentral.org) project where wetlands can survive, expand, or recede, by decade, depending on coastal development, sea level rise scenario, and wetlands' rate of vertical growth. This presentation will walk the audience through our new and established tools, provide examples of how floodplain managers and other coastal professionals have used or could use our tools and visualizations, and seek input from the audience regarding their needs to inform our next generation of tools.
2) Designing Approachable, Accessible, and Adaptable Flood Risk Communications: Updating the Community Officials Toolkit
Lisa Messano, CFM, Resilience Action Partners, lmessano@mbakerintl.com
Co-presenters: Craig "Julius" Lockhart, FEMA, Region 4, craig.lockhart@fema.dhs.gov
Abstract: The Community Officials Toolkit (Toolkit) is the result of a collaborative effort between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Resilience Action Partners, FEMA’s Community Engagement and Risk Communications (CERC) contractor. In 2019, the Toolkit was released as a public gallery of information to help community officials better communicate flood risk and the need to update maps and data. The Toolkit includes guides and videos to support community officials in communicating flood risk effectively and efficiently across diverse audiences. While the Toolkit focuses on communicating flood risk and technical flood hazard information, it also provides a foundational level of knowledge that can be applied more broadly. This presentation will:
- Recap the Toolkit and Resilience Video Series – why they were created, what guides are included, and what role they play in risk communications;
- Showcase how risk communications can be approachable – general audience connection, plain language, format, and style;
- Showcase how risk communications can be accessible – focusing on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and connecting to various people and communities;
- Showcase how risk communications can be made adaptable and applied across the Nation and its territories – highlighting next steps for creating multi-hazard materials and an inventory of stories of resilience; and
- Explore what's new and what’s next for the Toolkit – detailing the Plain Language and Future Conditions guides, and building out stories of resilience for a variety of mediums.
3) Coastal Community Resiliency through Water Level Monitoring: "Old School" versus "New School"
Daniel Tomczak, CFM, Jacobs Engineering Group, daniel.tomczak@jacobs.com
Co-presenters: Nicole Elko, Ph.D. (nicole.elko@asbpa.org;
Abstract: Coastal communities are interested in being more resilient by better understanding tidal water levels and the extent to which they will impact roadways, properties, buildings, and other structures. Tools available for the communities to monitor the water levels can range from a simple staff gauge (“old school”) to low-cost water sensors (“new school”). The North Carolina King Tides (NCKT) Project began in 2015 as an initiative for public outreach and for citizens to become engaged in understanding, photo-documenting, and measuring water levels during high tidal events in coastal communities. Volunteers and citizen scientists submit their water level measurements collected from the NCKT gauging stations as well as photos and observations of high water using the Coastal Observer smartphone app. Observations by citizen scientists and community officials are particularly useful in capturing tidal flooding because the events may be brief and highly localized, making it at times difficult to capture from other sources. The Southeast Coastal Communities Water Level Monitoring (SECCWLM) System includes the installation of affordable water-level sensors in communities along the Southeast coast of the United States. The water level sensors developed by Hohonu, Inc. have been set-up to collect wirelessly telemetered real-time, hyper-local data and tidal predictions to coastal managers’ cell phones through a user-friendly web-app. The project engages local managers to ensure the placement of the sensors, the data and prediction tools, and usability of the app fit the localized needs of up to 40 communities. This presentation will discuss multiple means for citizens and community officials to obtain data that can be used to plan for and respond to flood emergencies and design resilience strategies for sea-level rise and projected increase in tidal flooding.
Contributors
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Dan Rizza
Dan Rizza manages the Program on Sea Level Rise at Climate Central, a non-profit research organization providing localized, evidence-based information on climate science, impacts & solutions. Dan has managed the rollout of Climate Central’s coastal risk screening and visualization tools designed to enable coastal stakeholders to explore sea level rise and coastal flood risk over time, for nearly anywhere in the world, and under multiple pollution scenarios. He earned his MA at Georgetown University’s Graduate School of Foreign Service and his BA at Colby College.
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Lisa Messano
Lisa Messano currently leads several projects as part of the Resilience Action Partners team, FEMA’s CERC provider, including co-development of FEMA’s Flood Risk Communication Toolkit and videos for community officials. She joined Michael Baker International in 2001 and has 19 years of experience working on flood hazard and risk communication projects in support of FEMA’s mapping programs.
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Daniel Tomczak
Daniel M. Tomczak, CFM, is a Project Manager and Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) with Jacobs Engineering in the Raleigh (Cary), North Carolina office with over 24 year of experience (18 years with CH2M/Jacobs). He has managed environmental and water resources projects, including sediment assessment and dredging within riverine and coastal environments, as well as having interests in floodplain management related to hazard mitigation and community engagement. He is the Education and Outreach Chair for the North Carolina Association of Floodplain Managers (NCAFPM) and has been actively involved with the growth of the scholarship program and assistance with the North Carolina King Tides Project. Dan received his M.S. degree in Geological Sciences from Michigan State University.