Flooding has plagued Midwest towns and cities along the Mississippi River for most of the year, and only now are officials in some towns considering ways to mitigate future flood events.
Nationwide, communities are becoming cognizant of the need to plan for the impacts of climate change, but too often, they aren’t sure how to implement climate adaptation plans, particularly in smaller, rural areas with fewer resources, according to officials at a climate leadership conference.
Urban flooding is a “hidden” problem that is affecting large and small communities and will only get worse as the population grows, infrastructure ages, and extreme weather events become more common, according to a new study.
Cities, states and regions are taking steps to prepare their buildings, infrastructure and homes for the impacts of climate change as bad news continues to mount about rising sea levels.
Following a new analysis that examined the damage and flood impacts of Hurricane Harvey, Houston’s Dept. of Public Works is recommending that all new structures in the city’s 100- and 500-year floodplains be elevated to 2 ft above the 500-year flood elevation to avoid such damage in the future.
After three nor’easters pummeled the East Coast this year, architects, engineers and environmental groups are calling for regulators to force building owners to protect their properties from extreme wind, flooding and heat related to climate change and sea level rise.