Rebuilding in Flood Plains - It's Difficult to Resist

I'm on a roll today.

This is why incorporating natural disasters into a master plan is important, and why preparedness planning is also important. Have the codes and moratoriums in place that are automatically triggered when an event strikes, rather than trying to make decisions at the same time as rebuilding and recovery. Have financial incentives in place, coordinated with federal funding, to relocate to a more resilient location and people can rebuild quickly without putting themselves back in harms way. Quick-as-possible economic rebound only makes sense if it doesn't keep happening over and over, like flooding in a flood plain.

Rebuilding in Flood Plains - It's Difficult to Resist | Planetizen

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Miracle on Vine Street

Yep, another one. Stormwater infrastructure is a pretty major problem in a lot of cities that have combined sewer overflows. Rather than digging up all of the streets and replacing a single pipe with two, that then have to both be replaced or repaired, keep the single outflow and invest smartly in a distributed network. It replenishes the water table when needed, adds some green space and urban interest, and keeps shit out of the water that children play in. (I'm looking at you, Golden Gardens.) Seriously, there is human fecal matter in that stream. Get out of there!

Water Works: Miracle on Vine Street | Crosscut.com

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New Map Shows Where Nature Protects U.S. Coast

As simplistic as this might sound, there's a reason that FEMA requires this sort of analysis for all of its Hazard Mitigation Plans. Figuring out what is at risk and how much it costs makes it much easier to weigh the different methods of reducing possible losses. If preserving wetlands and reefs has multiple economic, health and safety benefits, whereas spending the same amount building hard barriers like seawalls doesn't have those benefits, the choice should be clear. Should be.

I hope they also include the fact that when some systems are given the proper support & room to adapt, they are self-maintaining and, sometimes, self-expanding in response to future sea-level rise, whereas walls stay the same height and need expensive repairs.

New Map Shows Where Nature Protects U.S. Coast

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Can bringing wetlands back to our coasts protect us from future megastorms?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Hell yes.

Can bringing wetlands back to our coasts protect us from future megastorms? | Grist

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