The New Jersey Star-Ledger has published a fascinating story about a barrier island community struggling with whether or not the Township can nourish private beaches within its jurisdiction without the blessing of its waterfront landowners. The debate, distilled into one paragraph: “Mayors want to keep beaches and dunes wide, attractive and safe. Waterfront homeowners balk […]
Archive | National
Two Communities on Two Coasts Move to Adapt to New Climates
Posted on February 1, 2010
Two new articles from two different areas on two different coasts. Both Neskowin, Oregon and the Norfolk-Virginia Beach metropolitan area are working to move beyond debating a changing climate to discussing what they’re going to do about it. Neskowin: a community with a disappearing beach An article in OregonLive describes how this small community (population […]
Hurricane Damage Prediction Tough, Even for Insurance Companies
Posted on January 21, 2010
A report released yesterday finds that short-term hurricane damage models, designed to project insured losses in the United States from Atlantic hurricanes for the past five-years, have significantly overestimated losses for the cumulative 2006 through 2009 seasons. From the press release: “This latest study further supports our previous findings that a short time horizon is […]
Habitat for Humanity Building Hurricane Resistant Home in Fairhope
Posted on January 13, 2010
This just in from the Habitat for Humanity Chapter in Baldwin County: Habitat for Humanity is building an affordable, hurricane-resistant home in Fairhope, Alabama. You are invited to volunteer to help build the home, become a project sponsor or learn about the special products and construction techniques that will help this home better withstand hurricanes, […]
National Hurricane Center to Provide Greater Lead Time in Watches and Warnings
Posted on January 13, 2010
A quick word from the NOAA National Hurricane Center: NOAA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami will issue watches and warnings for tropical storms and hurricanes along threatened coastal areas 12 hours earlier than in previous years. According to NHC experts, advancements in track forecasts are making it possible for forecasters to provide greater lead time. […]
New Levee Outreach
Posted on December 16, 2009
The brainy folks over at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) have released a little handy outreach booklet designed to help folks living behind levees understand their risks. It’s called, appropriately, So, You Live Behind a Levee! The 28-page booklet answers such questions as: What does it mean to live behind a levee? Are […]
DHS Releases Grant Guidance for 2010
Posted on December 15, 2009
The folks over at Emergency Management have posted a good summary of the newly released 2010 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Grant Guidance. While the bulk of the $2.7 billion is targeted at terrorism-related security (this is DHS, after all), there’s plenty here for those looking for funding to protect coastal communities from weather and […]
NEW StormSmart Coasts Network Calendar
Posted on December 14, 2009
We’ve started pulling together a calendar for the site that will list events we think would be useful for our readers across the network. It’s not much yet — little more than a list of events we’ve heard about recently — but we’ve got big plans. Once we get it populated we’ll make it look […]
FEMA's Fast-Track Dispute Resolution for Katrina Clean-Up Not Popular?
Posted on December 2, 2009
When the Federal Government modified The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals in August, their goal was to: “. . . resolve disputes between applicants and the Federal Emergency Management Agency as to funding for public assistance applications arising from Hurricane Katrina and Rita damage.” The quick version? The special arbitration panel hears from all sides, […]
FEMA Clarifies Sand Replacement and Public Assistance Funding
Posted on November 20, 2009
FEMA has released a 4-page PDF called “Eligible Sand Replacement on Public Beaches” which clarifies the availability of public assistance funding for the replacement of sand on damaged public beaches. Briefly? Under certain conditions, funding may be available for both emergency and permanent work, but it needs to meet certain requirements and not be in […]