ASCE Flood Standard Adopted by International Code CouncilThis article in the Association of State Floodplain Managers newsletter describes the successful effort to convince the International Code Council to adopt the new flood standard developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers. “Last week, a coalition of organizations, including ASFPM, secured a major win at the ICC Public Comment Hearings in Hartford, Connecticut, successfully defending the inclusion of ASCE 24-24 in the 2027 International Codes, including the Building, Residential, and Existing Building code volumes. The coalition was also successful in overturning a committee’s earlier decision to not include ASCE 24-24 in the International Residential Code.”
This YouTube video provides more information on ASCE 24-24. SEC to Repeal Climate Disclosure RuleThis article in The New York Times describes the decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission to repeal a rule that requiring thousands of companies to disclose the risks they face from a warming planet, including risks to facilities from coastal storms and rising sea level, and how their operations contribute to climate change. “If it had gone forward, the rule would have required all publicly traded companies to disclose whether they faced significant risks from climate change and its effects, including more frequent and more severe floods, wildfires and hurricanes. For example, a hotel chain would have had to inform investors of risks to waterfront properties from rising seas and storm surges.”
CFRP provided comments supporting the draft rule. NOAA Predicts Below Normal Atlantic Hurricane SeasonNOAA has announced its assessment of hurricane development this summer in the North Atlantic, concluding that a strong El Nino is likely to result in fewer hurricanes than a normal year. “The agency is forecasting a total of 8-14 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 3-6 are forecast to become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 1-3 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111 mph or higher). NOAA has a 70% confidence in these ranges. An average season has 14 named storms with seven hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.”
This article in The New York Times provides more information, as does this article in The Washington Post. NOAA Links El Nino to Higher Sea Level RiseThis report from NOAA describes impacts of the projected El Nino event this summer including increased high tide flooding: “During an El Niño, the trade winds weaken across the tropical Pacific, triggering Kelvin waves that travel eastward along the equator and then up the west coast of the Americas, warming the upper ocean and raising both sea surface temperatures and sea levels for several months or longer.”
Cuts to NOAA Threaten Hurricane ForecastsThis article in The Guardian describes concerns that funding cuts to NOAA threaten the quality of forecasts for heat and hurricanes over the coming months: “But widespread reports show staffing cuts have forced NOAA’s National Weather Service to scale back satellites and balloon launches, key parts of the country’s data collection system. And shrunken climate programs threaten ocean buoy networks and other observation systems, experts say. Research into effects of the climate crisis on Earth’s systems is also being slashed, along with funding for researchers who analyze data and identify new sources.”
NRDC Publishes Community Resilience GuideThe Natural Resources Defense Council has published “Rebuilding Safer: A Guide to State and Local Adaptation” highlighting practical opportunities for strengthening disaster resilience through policy, governance, and investment. Opportunities are identified in four major areas: Understand the risk and vulnerability. Build a clear picture of risk, including hazards, exposures, and vulnerabilities, to guide decisions and target investments. Integrate adaptation into existing systems and processes. Embed climate adaptation into existing planning, permitting, codes, and capital budgeting. Create new systems and processes to increase state and local capacity to adapt. Establish durable rules, authorities, and incentives ensuring that public and private decisions are informed by risk and can therefore stand the test of time. Pioneer transformative adaptation approaches. Big problems require big solutions— bonds, tax structures, climate superfunds, and risk-transfer instruments—as means to fund long term climate adaptation.
New Estimates of Impacts of Coastal Storms on HomesThis new report from risk management firm Cotality provides estimates of the number of homes in coastal states at risk of flooding due to storm surge, finding over 6 million homes at risk today with a reconstruction cost estimate of $2.1 trillion. “Florida is the undisputed epicenter of hurricane risk, leading the nation with approximately 8.25 million homes at risk of wind damage and 2.47 million homes at risk of storm surge. This storm surge risk in Florida represents $747.6 billion in RCV, [reconstruction cost value] which is over three times higher than the second most at-risk state of Louisiana. Texas ranks second for hurricane wind risk with 4.76 million homes, followed closely by North Carolina.”
The report also points to the high percentage of homes in coastal flood risk areas that are below the 100 year flood elevation: “A critical factor in assessing this vulnerability is examining the elevation of a home relative to base flood elevation. Only 38.2% of homes in coastal flood zones are elevated above the 100-year base flood elevation. This means a staggering 61.8% of coastal residences sit below this critical safety line, highlighting massive structural vulnerability right on the coast.”
New Marsh Modelling Community of PracticeThe Program for Local Adaptation to Changing Environments (PLACE) at Mississippi State University, supported by NOAA and other partners, has established a new Marsh Modelling Community of Practice to “advance marsh models for coastal decision-making, delivering a nationwide framework for applying marsh models.” You can sign up for the Community of Practice here. Floodplain Managers React to FEMA Review Council ReportThis article from the newsletter of the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) describes what ASFPM thinks about the report noting: “While the report contains several constructive recommendations, ASFPM is deeply concerned that some of the proposals reflect a misunderstanding of how floodplain management, hazard mitigation, and the NFIP function in practice.”
Some of the concerns with the report include a failure to address the debt carried by the National Flood Insurance Program, failure to recommend funding for improved flood mapping, and failure to fully support the Community Rating System. In a related article, ASFPM Director Chad Berginnis offers his top ten recommendations for improving FEMA.
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