In November, 2008, the Northeast Regional Ocean Council and the NOAA Coastal Services Center hosted a Workshop Towards Regional Coastal Hazards Resiliency.

This event was an opportunity for local, state, federal, and private interests from throughout the region to review New England's storm vulnerability, assess our current resilience capacity, and develop strategies to boost both individual state and the region's collective progress towards being "hazard ready" in the future.

Participants benefited from presentations from experts in the field (which are available below), networking with colleagues from throughout New England, and the opportunity to guide future NROC partner efforts.

For more information on this effort, visit the NROC Coastal Hazards Resilience Portal

Workshop Overview:

Coastal Hazard Workshop Proceedings (PDF)

Workshop Presentations:

• Defining Resiliency: A review of the work of NOAA Coastal Services Center and the Coastal Resources Center
• Susan Russell-Robinson with the U.S. Geological Survey
• Overview of storms of the Northeast and their effects on the coast
• David Vallee with the National Weather Service
• Implications of climate change for storm intensity and frequency in the Northeast
  • Cameron Wake with UNH Climate Change Research Center
• Presentation of the Assessment of Resiliency Capacity for the Northeast Region
  • Pam Rubinoff with the University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center
• FEMA’s Community Rating System and the coastal series of credit activities
  • Daisy Sweeney with the Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Engaging stakeholders to improve the Ocean State’s Resilience: Sea Level Policy, Urban Buffer Policy, and SAMPs
  • Grover Fugate with the RI Coastal Resources Management Council
• Real-time storm surge prediction tools
  • Bob Thompson with the National Weather Service
  • Riley Young Morse with the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System
• Massachusetts Storm Smart Program
  • Daniella Hirschfeld with Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management

Background Documents
Cross Border Indicators of Climate Change over the Past Century: Northeastern United States and Canadian Maritime Region
Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast: Science, Impacts and Solutions
Report on Coastal Hazard Resiliency Capacity in the Northeast US Region
NROC Coast and Ocean Action Plan

Special thanks to the Northeast Region Coastal Hazards Workshop Steering Committee Members who advised the planning for this event. Stephen Dickson, Maine Geological Survey Ed Fratto, Northeast States Emergency Consortium Janet Freedman. Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council Sherry Godlewski, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Adrianne Harrison, NOAA Coastal Services Center Julia Knisel, Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Betsy Nicholson, NOAA Northeast Regional Coastal Program Ron Rozsa, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Susan Russell-Robinson, Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey

Download the NROC Coast and Ocean Action Plan: