It's hurricane season, and for residents living along our nation's coastline that means being prepared for the worst. But as Rhode Island shows us in the cover story of this edition of Coastal Services, state agencies and local communities can go beyond just preparing for a storm's aftermath. Before a storm threatens, there is much that can be done to reduce a community's vulnerability and make it more disaster resistant.
One of the goals of the NOAA Coastal Services Center is to provide information and tools that help communities understand and address their vulnerability to coastal hazards. This goal is being met with the development of a series of CD-ROMs that deal with different aspects of risk and vulnerability assessment, and help managers make informed decisions. While the CDs focus on specific geographic regions, they provide solid examples for other communities on data gathering and methodologies needed to mitigate the damages from coastal hazards.
The first CD in the series was developed for coastal Alabama. It features a compilation of data that a community would need to assemble before conducting a risk and vulnerability assessment.
The second CD being developed is for a coastal county in North Carolina. It includes a vulnerability assessment methodology in the form of a tutorial, which will provide communities with the basis for identifying potential risks to their area and prioritizing the actions they can take to help reduce their vulnerability. This CD should be available in October.
The third CD will compile existing risk data for Ohio to assist with Lake Erie shoreline management decisions. It will demonstrate how geographic information systems (GIS) can be used for visualization and scenario analysis, and will be available this winter.
If you think any of these tools would be beneficial to your agency or organization, please call Tony LaVoi at (843) 740-1274, or e-mail him at Tony.Lavoi@noaa.gov. We would like to hear what you think.
-- Margaret A. Davidson
