Retreat isn’t a word one normally associated with the U.S. A 2019 study published in Science Magazine laid out a case for strategic and managed retreat, found that a single home in Mississippi was rebuilt 34 times in 32 years using $663,000 in federal tax dollars-for a home worth only $69,000. Federal data shows that from 1978 to 2018, more than 36,000 NFIP-insured properties filed repeated claims for flood damage. This facilitates a cycle of destroy-rebuild-repeat within the flood zone. There is a growing recognition that attempting to “hold the line” in many communities is a losing battle - and a costly one.įor decades, federal policy has subsidized building in the flood zone via the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) of 1968. This approach is relatively new but is gaining traction among coastal policy makers and managers in the face of increased coastal hazard risks. The restored natural coastal habitat provides extra protection or a buffer from flooding. In many cases of managed retreat, buildings and infrastructure are “moved” out of harm’s way and natural areas are restored in the abandoned area. Managed retreat or managed realignment is a coastal management strategy that allows a shoreline to move inland, instead of attempting to hold the line with engineered defenses. Innovate – have the courage to try out new ideasĪspire to a healthy coastline, shaped by natural forces. Work closely with communities – with everyone having their sayĪct across boundaries – join forces with partners and people Take action now – move from saying to doing See coastal adaptation as a positive force for good Their policy sets out goals to:īe driven by long-term sustainable plans, not short-term engineered defenses They established a new policy, Shifting Sands, committing them to working with natural processes and adapting to coastal change – for instance by rolling back, moving buildings and infrastructure out of harm’s way. With over 700 properties that could be lost due to erosion by 2030 and 247,000 residences and businesses at risk from flooding, in 2005 the organization concluded that they could no longer rely solely on building their way out of trouble on the coast and that coastal ‘defence’ as the only response to managing coastal change looked increasingly less plausible. The United Kingdom’s National Trust stewards 775 miles of dramatic, diverse and ever-changing coastline around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. More information on the McCurdy Smokehouse can be found at the Island Institute. ![]() Thankfully, in its float across the channel it did not collide with the Franklin D. After crossing the Lubec Channel into Canada, the shed ended up coming to rest on the Campobello shore, where scavengers dismantled parts of it before Lubec Landmarks and Canadian authorities could act. It came free of supporting pilings during the peak of the storm‑surge driven tide, turning the shed from a historical structure into a hazard to navigation. Listed on the National Registered of Historic Places, the McCurdy Smokehouse brining shed, was located in the channel east of Water Street and long a part of the Lubec Landmarks collection. The storm coincided with an astronomically high tide. Maine has already experienced loss of coastal structures, notably thirty-eight homes at Saco’s Camp Ellis and the dramatic loss of an industrial building in Lubec.ĭespite a fundraising campaign and plans to raise and relocate an endangered waterfront building, Lubec lost the historic landmark in a January 2018 storm that lashed the region with snow, rain and high winds. What should we do? Doing Nothingĭoing nothing will likely result in the loss of historic resources. ![]() What can we learn from past events? What can we learn from other coastal communities across the county? What happens to historic buildings that flood periodically? What can be done to alleviate the repeated flooding and damage to properties? As sea levels rise and storm intensity and frequency increase, preservationists are grappling with these issues. An occasional Nor’Easter that arrives during high tide can mean flooding will wreck havoc on our coastal communities. Spring thaw usually brings warnings of flooding along Maine’s rivers and streams. Flooding in a watery state like Maine is not unusual.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |