Archive | Gulf of Mexico
Incorporating Sea Level Rise into Post-Disaster Planning
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has just released “Post-Disaster Redevelopment Planning: Addressing Sea Level Rise During Long-Term Recovery.” This is the fifth and final piece of the Post-Disaster Redevelopment Planning Guidebook (PDF). The first four parts provided a planning process to guide post-disaster redevelopment activities that enhance community sustainability and ensure resilient redevelopment after […]
Big Bill For Levee Upkeep Comes To New Orleans
the US Army Corps of Engineers will hand over control of much of the city’s ~$13B levee system next summer. But with ownership/control comes responsibility, at the tune of an estimated $38M a year. Few are arguing that the city’s protective system is bad, but it’s unclear if or how the city will be able […]
USACE to Investigate if New Orleans Levees Deflected Isaac’s Floodwaters into Neighboring Areas
“At the urging of residents who have long felt forgotten in the shadow of more densely populated New Orleans, the Army Corps of Engineers says it will look into whether the city’s fortified defenses pushed floodwaters provoked by Hurricane Isaac into outlying areas.” This could get interesting. “U.S. Corps of Engineers to study levee improvements’ […]
A Note on Hurricane Isaac
To all of our friends and colleagues down in the Gulf of Mexico, we hope you and your families are safe and well. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help (help@stormsmart.org). Because of the speed with which everything changes, we’ll keep most of our Isaac info on our twitter feed […]
How Bad is Your Hurricane Erosion Risk? If You’re on the Gulf of Mexico USGS Can Tell You
The USGS Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards site is a great way to get a rough idea of some of the other hazards Gulf of Mexico communities face during hurricanes. The image here is of Corpus Christi (because we had this summer’s Gulf of Mexico Alliance meeting there). The different bands show where the waves will […]
Final Version of Coastal Best Development Practices Manual Released
This winter we mentioned an earlier draft of the Best Practices Manual for Development in Coastal Louisiana, but the final version is out now, and it looks great. You can find it on the project’s website. Even if you’re not in Louisiana, it’s worth a look.
Mississippi to Pilot Disaster Preparadness Program in School Curriculum
Good news from Mississippi: MEMA [Mississippi Emergency Management Agency] would like to begin a pilot program in several schools that would weave the teaching of disaster preparedness into the normal curriculum. For example, the program could be similar to the fire services successful campaign about fire prevention, Latham said. “There’s probably not a child in […]
Gulf of Mexico Shoreline Is Vulnerable to Extreme Erosion During Even the Weakest Hurricanes
Not news you wanted on the first day of the hurricane season, but USGS research finds that most of the Gulf of Mexico coast could be severely eroded from a decidedly mediocre storm. How at risk is your favorite beach? Visit the project’s interactive map here to find out. Read the USGS press release here.
Best Practices for Coastal Louisiana Manual
The Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX) and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) recently released the Best Practices Manual for Development in Coastal Louisiana website. What’s novel about this site is that it provides strategies for creating sustainable and resilient coastal communities based on “geotypes” (pick from chenier plain, alluvium, upper riverbanks, middle riverbanks, […]