Latest Coastal Headlines

All the headlines from our Coastal Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Sea Level Rise Puts $117.5B at Risk from Chronic Flooding

Jun 21 2018 // Those interested in risk management are starting to take climate change a bit more seriously. The evidence is anecdotal, but for that proof one can just ask Phil Renaud, executive director for the Risk Institute at Ohio...

NOAA Expects Sea Level Rise to Produce Record Coastal Flooding This Year

Jun 18 2018 // Break out the galoshes. The projected increase in high tide flooding in 2018 may be as much as 60 percent higher across U.S. coastlines compared to typical flooding about 20 years ago, according to scientists at the...

NOAA Expects Sea Level Rise to Produce Record Coastal Flooding This Year

Jun 7 2018 // Break out the galoshes. The projected increase in high tide flooding in 2018 may be as much as 60 percent higher across U.S. coastlines compared to typical flooding about 20 years ago, according to scientists at the...

XL Catlin, Nature Conservancy Eye Coastal Wetlands Investments for Storm Mitigation

May 11 2018 // When Hurricane Sandy hit the U.S. East Coast in October 2012, its 80-mile-per-hour winds and the resulting flooding did about $71 billion in damage. After the storm, researchers found that natural coastal ecosystems saved...

With Flood Risk Rising, Coastal Real Estate Looks a Lot Like a Junk Bond: Viewpoint

May 4 2018 // A friend of mine who is a bit of a climate-change skeptic once challenged me with this question: If climate change is such a pressing danger, why haven’t coastal real estate prices crashed? It’s a fair...

Why Coastal Living Is Becoming Affordable for Only the Rich

Apr 24 2018 // When Hurricane Irma reached Florida’s Big Pine Key in September, it caused the floor of Terry and Sharon Baron’s cream-colored mobile home to collapse. On Marathon Key, twenty miles north, the winds lifted...

Research on Coastal Housing Shows Gaps in Natural Disaster Recovery Policies

Apr 5 2018 // A team including an Iowa State University researcher studied Galveston, Texas, homes following Hurricane Ike, finding that the types of housing and homeowners – and how U.S. recovery policy handles each – played a...

Flooding of East Coast Roads from High Tides Becoming Routine, Costly

Mar 29 2018 // High tide floods, or so-called “nuisance flooding,” that happen along shore roadways during seasonal high tides or minor wind events are occurring far more frequently than ever before. Researchers at the...

Nor’easter May Break Records, Threatens Billions in Real Estate

Mar 2 2018 // A potentially record-breaking nor’easter is set to pummel the U.S. East Coast with wind, snow and rain Friday, putting billions of dollars of coastal real estate at risk from “unprecedented...

Harvey Survivors Critical of Texas Governor/FEMA’s Disaster Response Plan

Mar 1 2018 // This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2018/02/27/texans-left-limbo-gov-abbott-fema-use-harvey-reinvent-disaster-respons/. In the weeks immediately after Hurricane Harvey,...

Coastal Communities Hit by Harvey to Get $1B for Hazard Mitigation

Feb 14 2018 // Texas communities slammed by Hurricane Harvey can now apply for a share of a half-billion dollars in federal money that will cover everything from buying out flood-prone homes to building new seawalls and restoring sand...

Texas A&M Study: Better Science, Urban Planning Needed in Coastal Cities

Feb 6 2018 // The field of urban planning is gaining interest as cities around the world, including Houston, are facing increased exposure to weather-related risks and hazards ranging from sea level rise and flooding to temperature...

Idea of Texas Coastal Barrier Resurrected Post-Harvey

Jan 22 2018 // A study suggests if the Houston area continues to boom for 60 years and sea levels rise, a direct hit to Galveston from a massive hurricane could destroy $31.8 billion worth of homes, the Houston Chronicle reported. Texas...

Harvey-Devastated Texas Coastal Towns Still Working on Recovery

Jan 17 2018 // Some Texas coastal towns where Hurricane Harvey made landfall are working to restore tourism and other economic attractions nearly five months after the storm. Hundreds of businesses in Rockport and Fulton are now open...

Idea of Texas Coastal Barrier Resurrected After Harvey

Jan 11 2018 // A new study suggests if the Houston area continues to boom for 60 years and sea levels rise, a direct hit to Galveston from a massive hurricane could destroy $31.8 billion worth of homes, the Houston Chronicle...

Coastal Sea Rise Threatening Florida’s Historic Resources

Jan 9 2018 // The Castillo de San Marcos withstood two sieges in 330 years and changed hands five times, but its latest invader – the rising Atlantic Ocean – threatens to erode the historic St. Augustine fortress. The coquina shell...

North Carolina Coastal Community Searching for Fire Protection Services

Dec 19 2017 // A coastal North Carolina county is trying to find a way to provide fire protection to a remote island after volunteers quit providing service. The Daily Advance of Elizabeth City reports Knotts Island volunteer...

Resilience Economics Bringing Climate Products to New Sectors

Nov 9 2017 // Resilience Economics Ltd. seems poised to capitalize on climate change. Cedent Ltd. this month launched the corporate finance advisory firm focused on climate risk with an initial $500 million of capacity from strategic...

U.S. Supreme Court Declines Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Lawsuit

Oct 31 2017 // The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to revive a Louisiana flood protection board’s lawsuit seeking to make oil, gas and pipeline companies pay for decades of damage to coastal wetlands. The suit drew fierce opposition...

U.S. Cities Ranked Most Vulnerable to Coastal Floods Due to Climate Change

Oct 26 2017 // This week is the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which developed in late October and moved over the East Coast starting on Oct. 29, 2012, causing more than $70 billion in damage and killing 280 people. To mark that...