No matter what Irene’s visit yields, heeding experts’ advice and creating a “hurricane survival kit” is an excellent idea. However, for true hurricane preparedness, a good survival kit should go well beyond just bottled water and flashlights. Coastal communities can help to ensure that they are less vulnerable to the impacts of all types of coastal storms both now and in the future through:
Coastal Habitat Protection and Restoration – The most effective and inexpensive way of protecting coastal communities is ensuring that the natural resources that they depend upon are healthy and thriving. A well functioning salt marsh can significantly buffer the impacts of waves and storm surge and provide enormous benefits, such as cleaner water and fish habitat, even when there aren’t impending threats from coastal storms.
Pre- and Post-Storm Planning – Creating land use plans that guide development away from highly vulnerable areas in advance of a storm or other disaster can protect both the human and natural components of a coastal community. If storm damage occurs, reconstruction should reduce vulnerability to future threats, which can save lives and money, while also presenting opportunities to reclaim lost coastal habitats, and enhancing the protections and benefits to people and wildlife that they provide.
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Adapting Vulnerable Infrastructure –By taking steps to move vulnerable structures out of harm’s way, such as the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, or elevating them, as is being done with some sewage treatment plants in New York, communities can protect the structures themselves and the people that rely upon them while also ensuring that the dynamic processes that maintain our beautiful coastlines are able to continue unimpeded, thus allowing for the ongoing benefits from these remarkable natural features both now and in to the future.
Planning and preparation for the onset of major coastal storms shouldn’t just happen in the days before the storm hits; it should be an integral part of how coastal communities relate to their environment. Protecting our natural shoreline resources so that they can protect us makes sense now and in the face of a storm. It also helps maintain all those qualities we value about where we live – our beaches, clean water, abundant wildlife, natural vistas, and many more – as part of our coastal community.
