Coastal hazards

Coastal Hazard

Coastal hazards are a major topic in today's society whether or not to continue building along the coast. We are to gather information from credible sources and compile it into one page about coastal hazards to be uploaded into Wikipedia.

Introduction

Coastal hazards play a major role in today's society because it is a part of human nature to live near or along the coast. 80% of people live near the coast. 1.2 billion people live within 100km of the coast and it is on the rise. It is important for us to educate ourselves and others on coastal hazards so we can continue living near the coast with the least amount of damage to the environment. In the past, human development has effected our coastal living arrangements by making it vulnerable to such fragile environments such as the barrier islands. Disasters such as hurricanes with high winds and swells, cause erosion along coastlines. Due to this certain policies have been set in place to try and manage disaster property damages; FEMA, NFIP, CZM, and etc. Adaptive management has become a major source of planning in order to make development sustainable for the environment. Structural versus non-structural mitigation techniques have been a main focus for planners towards coastal hazards. Short term solutions versus long term solutions; dune, sea walls, etc.. Current strategies are only an illusion of safety.

For coastal hazards it is important to have emergency management plans in advance so agencies can respond quickly and effectively. If we have better plans it will create a faster recovery time that will ensure economic, social, and environmental life back to its original state. For example, Hurricane Katrina was an national eye opener on how on the risk of improper risk management between federal, state, and local governments. Due to the nature of the federal system and policies often conflict with one another between both private and public agencies in addition to mandated mitigation programs going unfunded. Communication between these governments is essential in coordinating an effective response through mitigation. Coastal hazards are unpredictable to know where and when they will occur and it is important for everyone to be prepared.

Policies(Chaz Green)

A summary and analysis of State and Federal public policies relevant to coastal disasters. Policies make coastal management sustainable to some extent. With better management practice (BMP) planners can take action to develop comprehensive plans towards coastal management.

NFIP The national flood insurance program or NFIP was instituited in 1--- and offers home owners in qualifying communites an opportunity to rebuild and recover after flooding events .

Coastal States Organization The Coastal States orginaization is an orginization of states on coasts that work to develop and lobby for comprehensive policies.

Coastal Zone Management Act In 1972 the coastal zone management act works to streamline the policies which states create to a minimum federal standard for environmental protection.

Environments(Brandon Hackney)

Types of environments along the coast, how coastal hazards affect these vulnerable environments.

Barrier Islands

Always moving and always eroding, they are a buffer to the main lands.

Salt Marshes

salt marshes

Wetlands

Buffer zone for flooding and a filtration system so pollutions cannot make it back into our oceans.

Causes of Coastal Hazards(James Cary)

Natural VS Human disasters

The population that lives along or near our coastlines are an extremely vulnerable population due to the long list of possible coastal hazards. There are numerous issues facing our coastlines. There are two main categories that these hazards can be placed under, natural disasters and human disasters. Both of these issues cause great damage to our coastlines and discussion is still ongoing regarding what standards or responses need to be met to help both the individuals who want to continue living along the coastline, while keeping them safe and not eroding more coastline away. Natural disasters are disasters that are out of human control and are usually caused by the weather. Disasters that can include but are not limited to; storms, tsunamis, typhoons, flooding, tides, and storm surge. Human disasters occur when humans are the main culprit behind why the disaster happened. Some human disasters are but are not limited to; pollution, trawling, and human development. Natural and human disasters continue to harm the coastlines severely and they need to be researched in order to prepare/stop the hazards if possible.

The populations that live near or along the coast experience many hazards and it affects millions of people. Around ten million people feel the effects of coastal problems yearly and most are due to certain natural hazards like coastal flooding with storm surges and typhoons. A major problem related to coastal regions deals with how the entire global environment is changing and in response the coastal regions are easily effected.

Storms, Flooding, Erosion

Storms are one of the major hazards that are associated to coastal regions. Storms, flooding, and erosion are closely associated and can happen simultaneously. Hurricanes especially can devastate coastal regions. For example, Florida during Hurricane Andrew occurred in 1992 that caused extreme damage. It was a category five hurricane that caused $26.5 billion dollars in damages and even 23 individuals lost their lives from the storm. In almost all cases, storms are the major culprit that causes flooding and erosion. Flash flooding is caused by storms that occurs when a massive amount of rainfall comes down into an area over a short period of time. Where as storm surge is when the wind collects and pushes water inland and can rise rapidly. The amount of rise or fall of storm surge depends greatly on the amount and duration of wind and water in a specific location.

Consisting of; Hurricanes, typhoons, water spouts, tsunamis, nor'easter, etc..

Flooding

Storm surge

Salt Water Intrusion-opening of inlets

Erosion

Along shore currents, tides, sea level rise and fall, wind, etc..

Sea Level Rise

Pollution, Trawling, Human Development

Fertilizer runoff, dumping into the oceans, etc..

Oil Spills

BP oil spill

Trawling

Hurts ecosystems in the water

Human Development

Building along the coast

Management and Planning(Margaux)

Due to the increasing urbanization along the coastlines, planning and management are essential to protecting the ecosystems and environment from depleting. Coastal Management is becoming more popular because of the movement of people to the shore and the hazards that come with the territory. Some of the hazards include movement of barrier islands, sea level rise,hurricanes, nor'easters, earthquakes, flooding, erosion, pollution and human development along the coast. The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) was created to better management practices such as integrated coastal zone management Adaptive management The practice of development adaptation with the environment. Strategies that are flexible

Structural Mitigation The current solution to eroding beaches and movement of sand, however this is only a short term fix that engineers believe to be a long term solution. Structural management deals with the use of the following:

Groins - which are man-made solution to longshore current movements up and down the coast. The use of groins are efficient to some extent yet cause erosion and sand build up father down the beaches.

Bulkheads -are man-made structures that help protect the homes built along the coast and other bodies of water that actually induce erosion in the long run.

Jetties -structures built to protect sand movement into the inlets where boats for fishing and recreation move through.

Sea Walls

Nonstructural Mitigation Is the practice of using organic solutions to protect against coastal hazards.

Artificial Dunes -are used to create dunes that have been either developed on or eroded. There needs to be at least two lines of dunes before any development can occur.

Beach Nourishment - is a major source of nonstructural mitigation to ensure that beaches are present for the communities and for the protection of the coastline.

Vegetation

See Also

Federal Emergency Management Agency

References

NOAA Coastal Hazards NC COHAZ eurosion CAMA Coastal Hazards and National Policy Reframing disaster policy: the global evolution of Vulnerable Communites CZMA NOAA CZMA Sea level rise Cost of Coastal Hazards Erosion Control Tsunami Mechanisms of Tsunamis Coastal Management Coastal Mitigations Wetland Mitigations Coastal Policies Barrier Islands Hurricane Katrina Hurricane effects on the environment