Summary

We will analyze the impact of coastal flooding for the communities of Lumberton, NC, and Fort Myers Beach, FL, both of which have been impacted by hurricane floods. 

In Lumberton, we will consider the role of managed retreat in reducing coastal flood risk.

In Fort Myers Beach, we will consider the role of elevating residential and commercial structures to the new 500-year design flood requirements proposed by FEMA, ASCE, and other national organizations. 

We will use the computer models IN-CORE and Hazus-MH which is capable of estimating flood damage through fragility functions developed in earlier years of the CRC by the research team.  Moreover, the models will be used to estimate indirect losses, such as lost income, and we will use demographic data to develop effective measures of these direct and indirect losses. The project team will leverage the data collected for Fort Myers Beach in Year 9. 

The modeling work will be used with flood scenarios similar to the hurricane floods experienced during Hurricane Ian which reached the 500-year flood level in some areas. The model output will provide a better understanding of the benefits of elevation to reduce flood risk.

Investigators