September 16, 2026

Coastal Flood Resilience News

Twice a month, CFRP recaps the latest science, federal policy, and state and local news related to coastal flood resilience and sea level rise. Prior issues can be viewed on our website.

Science

Hurricanes Form in Pacific Rather than Atlantic this Season

So far this summer, the Atlantic basin has seen the lowest number of hurricanes since 1950. The Washington Post reports that “accumulated cyclone energy,” which describes how much energy tropical cyclones extract from the ocean and expend as strong winds, is down by 90 percent. High altitude winds caused by El Niño are disrupting storm formation. The article notes, however, that the Pacific has been “hyperactive” with storms and that storm season is not yet over:

Still, it’s important to remember that even quiet seasons can be disastrous. In 1992, for instance — considered a quiet season — only seven named storms formed, and just one of them was a major hurricane. Except that one hurricane was Andrew. It lay siege to Homestead, a town just south of Miami that was shredded by winds in the 160- to 180-mph range.

This article from the Hawai’i Journalism Initiative provides background on recent storm impacts, including discussion of new buyout programs and a need to relocate infrastructure.

UN Report: Sea Level Rise Accelerating and Irreversible

A new report from the United Nations focuses on the risks that rising sea levels poses for coastal areas and offers several key findings:

• the annual rate of sea-level rise has more than doubled in recent decades, accelerating from 2.1mm per year in 1992 to 4.5mm per year in 2024 – and projections indicate this will surpass 10mm per year by the end of the century;

• greenhouse gas emissions have made extreme sea level events four times more common since 1900

• stabilising global warming at 1.5°C would not be enough to prevent sea-level rise of several metres from Antarctic ice melt, meaning that governments should aim to reduce global warming well below 1.5°C before the end of the century.

Here is a link to an August 31 press conference launching the report.

AMOC Changes Already Increasing Flooding in Southeast U.S.

This new study published in Nature Communications evaluates the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and concluded that AMOC-related increases in ocean heat are now resulting in significantly increased flood days in the southeastern U.S.:

While direct observations of the AMOC are still too short to infer long-term trends, we show here that the AMOC-induced changes in gyre-scale heat content, superimposed on the global mean sea level rise, are already influencing the frequency of floods along the United States southeastern seaboard. We find that ocean heat convergence, being the primary driver for interannual sea level changes in the subtropical North Atlantic, has led to an exceptional gyre-scale warming and associated dynamic sea level rise since 2010, accounting for 30-50% of flood days in 2015-2020.

National Climate Assessment Amendment Proposed

Although the Trump administration removed the Fifth National Climate Assessment from the internet last year, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is proposing to amend the report and sought comments via a Federal Register notice. The website climate.us offers a link to the notice, a summary of the proposal, and reactions of diverse experts. For example, Margaret Walsh, research professor and director of research development, University of Connecticut is quoted:

Science needs to inform policy. The NCA5 adhered to every requirement and review standard for a Highly Influential Scientific Assessment, to the letter. Selective disregard of its findings leaves us blind and vulnerable to the real effects of climate change. Any alteration requires the same rigor, transparency, and independent review that the original report received.

Comments were due September 9. Climate.us stood up a clone of the official site at nca5.climate.us).

Marsh Restoration Also Provides Flood and Insurance Benefits

This report from the Water Institute describes a marsh restoration project in Graveline Bay, Alabama, that included an evaluation of the success of the project, and also assessed the marsh’s potential to reduce flooding and lower insurance rates. In addition to finding a 46 percent reduction in wave heights, the research team worked with Munich Reinsurance to estimate potential insurance rate reductions:

Munich Re is a trusted partner in the private flood market and other business segments in the insurance industry. For this study, they used the analysis of reduction in wave heights and water levels and assessed what impact this would have on the average annual loss (AAL) for the properties in our study area. Munich Re US found that the risk reduction from the marsh restoration could lead to a reduction of between 9% and 18% in AALs for these properties.

Maine Living Shorelines: Mixed Results

The Maine Monitor reports that local living shoreline projects are having mixed results due to harsh conditions:

But living shorelines face challenges in Maine. The state’s long winter season substantially shortens the time period for construction and initial growth, often leaving young vegetation susceptible to cold and ice. As sea levels rise and heavier winds come into the Gulf of Maine, ocean waves carry increased amounts of energy, speeding up the erosion process. 

Federal Policy

Trump Staff Cuts to FEMA Ruled Unlawful

The Washington Post reports that a federal judge has ruled that the Department of Homeland Security plan to cut FEMA staff by 50 percent is unlawful:

The judge found that DHS violated the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, which states that the Homeland Security secretary “may not substantially or significantly reduce the authorities, responsibilities, or functions of the Agency.”

New York State Climate Superfund Law Struck Down

New York State legislation that would have required fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of adapting to climate change was struck down by a federal judge who ruled that the law “conflicts with” federal authority, and involves an area of the law “in which the federal interest is so dominant that it cannot be enforced.” Inside Climate News reports:

Fossil fuel companies “knew the damage they were causing; they continued to do it,” said state Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who co-sponsored the initial legislation. “They didn’t do anything about it, and so when we passed the law, the purpose was to ensure that these corporations pay for some of the costs of the damage that they caused.”

Note that a recent study in the journal of the American Geophysical Union demonstrated improved ability to link greenhouse gas emitters to heat and climate impacts: “This framework has the potential to inform future assessments of the liability of major emitters for extreme heat and rainfall.”

This article provides background information on the issue of climate change impact attribution.

FEMA Publishes Guide for Retrofitting Residential Flood-Prone Structures

New guidance from FEMA offers detailed information for a range of retrofitting methods for flood-prone residential structures, including both elevation and relocation, that can reduce flood damages by 65 percent on average.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that buildings that meet or exceed the National Flood Insurance Program minimum floodplain management requirements incur, on average, 65% less flood damage than buildings that predate adoption of local floodplain management requirements.

In general, buildings that were constructed before the adoption of local floodplain management requirements may not have been constructed with features that reduce flood damage. Owners of these buildings may be interested in the retrofitting measures and best practices described in this publication.

Lawsuit Seeks Release of Files on NCAR Dismantling Plans

Several nonprofit organizations, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, have sued the Trump administration seeking information about plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). This press release quotes Dr. Carlos Martinez, Senior Climate Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists:

Losing NCAR would set back scientific research, with real consequences for people’s lives and livelihoods. As a taxpayer-funded public good, NCAR belongs to all of us, and we deserve to know the rationale and deliberations behind any effort to dismantle or restructure it.

Future of the Beach

The Sea Change podcast recently offered an interesting and provocative interview with Professor Rob Young on the “future of our beaches.” Topics include beach nourishment, expansion of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, and relocation. Here is a closing remark from Rob Young:

…We really need a national plan and a national vision, where we all come together and decide where we're gonna use the sand, where we're gonna spend the money, and who's going to pay. And, you know, then the last little bit is, you know, every coastal community should be having a conversation right now amongst their elected officials, planners, emergency managers, and citizens, what do we do when the money stops? Because it's going to stop.

National Flood Insurance Program Renewed

A Continuing Resolution was signed into law on September 2 (section 139 of Public Law No: 119-103) reauthorized the National Flood Insurance Program until December 11. This is the 36th short term reauthorization since 2017.

New Legislation Addresses Flood Reduction

New, bipartisan legislation introduced by representatives Beyer and Valadao proposes a National Flood Impact Reduction and Resilience Program, based on the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program. The bill (the National Flood Impact Reduction and Resilience Act (H.R.10120) calls for “improving the understanding of floods and their impacts and developing and encouraging the implementation of effective measures to reduce those impacts.”

The new program would encourage adoption of new building codes and work to improve flood mapping as well as authorize a federal interagency committee and a public advisory committees. Here is the press release from Rep. Beyer.

Black and Hispanic Homeowners Pay More for Insurance

Inside Climate News has details on a new report, released in July by the Consumer Federation of America, finding that homeowners in predominantly Hispanic ZIP codes pay on average a 30 percent higher premium ($950 more annually) compared with homeowners in white communities. In predominantly Black ZIP codes, homeowners pay, on average, a 16 percent higher premium ($500 more annually).

The most acute home insurance disparity among homeowners was reported in predominantly Hispanic ZIP codes in Florida, where they pay on average 58 percent more ($5,014 annually) for the same coverage as those in white communities.

State and Local

Army Corps Plans Home Elevations for Miami-Dade

The Miami Herald reports that the Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to elevate and floodproof more than 3,000 homes and buildings in Miami-Dade, part of a massive plan to help protect the region from the stronger hurricanes and higher sea levels of the future (i.e., the Miami-Dade Back Bay Coastal Flood Risk Management Study). It also covers protecting 275 businesses and crucial government buildings from rising waters, including fire stations and wastewater treatment plants. The article cites a cost of $4.5 billion and explains:

Protecting all 3,200 properties is expected to take 16 years, at least. Getting there would require Congress to fund the design of the project in 2028 and then continue shelling out cash for waves of construction for more than a decade afterward. Without it, the Corps calculated, Miami-Dade could be at risk of more than $54 billion in economic damages. That’s homes swept away by floodwaters, business halted when storms strike and plummeting property values.

West Coast Sea Levels to Rise Due to El Niño

The Washington Post reports that El Niño is driving a wave of warm water in the Pacific Ocean that will result in record high sea levels all along the West Coast. Elevated sea levels from this first wave could persist for several weeks, and it’s possible that another wave could follow right behind the first one, enabling seas to remain at elevated levels for longer.

Scientists highlighted the potential for compounding risk factors from El Niño-driven sea level rise, long-term sea level rise, and extreme high tides that will be near their maximum levels.

The San Francisco Examiner has more information.

North Carolina Tables Coastal Septic Rules

The North Carolina Coastal Commission considered but then tabled proposed rules to strengthen requirements for managing septic systems that are exposed or damaged due to flooding. This article in the newsletter of the North Carolina Coastal Federation reported:

Under the existing framework, we’re seeing systems fail, be repaired, remain exposed, and subsequently fail again,” Cameron Luck, coastal policy analyst with the Division of Coastal Management, told commissioners during the Aug. 27 commission meeting in Dare County. “The recurrence cycle is one of the primary issues these amendments are intending to address.”

Maine Sea Wall Demand Drives Quarry Expansion

Inside Climate News reports that demand for stone for coastal sea walls is driving a boom in business for Maine quarries, explaining:

After a trio of destructive winter storms inundated the central Maine foothills and slammed into the coast two years ago—illuminating the state’s vulnerability to similar climate change-fueled storms—the number of permit applications for seawall projects skyrocketed, expedited by an emergency permitting provision in state statute and a slew of federal disaster funds.

South Carolina Land Purchase Avoids Development

This article in the Charleston Post and Courier describes the decades-long legal battle over development on “Captain Sam’s Spit” at the mouth of the Kiawah River, and the final agreement to purchase the 170 acre property for $37 million. It had been slated for development of 50 luxury homes. “As part of the settlement, the deal requires a payout of $37 million to the developer to settle the suits. The town will provide $3.7 million, the Conservancy $1.3 million and the state $32 million.”