Promoting Coastal Community Resilience
Resilient coastal communities plan for and take deliberate action to reduce risks from coastal hazards, accelerate recovery from disaster events, and adapt to changing conditions.
Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program
In response to the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, the United States established the U.S. Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (US IOTWS) Program. Through this effort the NOAA Pacific Services Center joined with regional and international organizations and other national governments to develop the Coastal Community Resilience (CCR) Initiative.
This initiative resulted in several products:
- This initiative resulted in the production of a guide book on resilient coastal communities: How Resilient is Your Coastal Community? A Guide for Evaluating Coastal Community Resilience to Tsunamis and Other Coastal Hazards.
Download the guide
Learn more about the Coastal Community Resilience Initiative.
One of the main lessons learned in the aftermath of the tsunami was that single-sector development planning could not solve the complexity of problems posed by natural hazards nor build resilience to them. The CCR framework was developed to facilitate and encourage the integration of community development, disaster management, and resource management.
The participatory process took over two years and engaged over 140 organizations across the region. The NOAA Pacific Services Center (PSC) played an integral role in the initiative and co-authored the capstone publication, How Resilient is Your Coastal Community? A Guide for Evaluating Coastal Community Resilience to Tsunamis and Other Coastal Hazards. The guide defines elements of resilient coastal communities, presents benchmarks for assessing current conditions, and includes a framework for identifying actions to reduce risk.
PSC leveraged expertise and investment in geographic information system (GIS)-based decision-support tools to develop the software template, US IOTWS Hazard Risk Information Tool, which will assist in sharing hazard risk information via the Internet in the Indian Ocean region. Training on the technology was provided in partnership with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and ESRI, and a pilot project was initiated with the Disaster Management Centre of Sri Lanka. The Disaster Management Centre is developing a regional hazard risk information tool based on this pilot project.
Coastal Community Resilience Pilot
The NOAA Pacific Services Center is working with partners on the Island of Hawai`i to learn how the CCR framework may benefit communities there and across the state and region. Lessons learned are being documented to enhance other local policies, plans, and programs.
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