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BC Adapts - Coastal Flood Management

Last updated on August 9, 2023

Community leaders on the B.C. coast are taking action to adapt community planning, land use and infrastructure to the challenges of climate change. Global sea level rise has already begun, and will continue for the foreseeable future. Sea level rise and changing precipitation and storm patterns will lead to increased risks of flooding on coasts.

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Coastal Flood Management 1 - Planning for Sea Level Rise

 

Planning for Sea Level Rise

By planning ahead and building Sea Level Rise adaptation into our projects now, we can save lives and property, preserve our coastal ecosystems, and minimize trauma and expense of disaster-response in coastal floodplains.

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Coastal Flood Management 2 - Partnerships for Sea Level Rise Adaptation

 

Partnerships for Sea Level Rise Adaptation

A wide variety of stakeholders have an interest in avoiding flooding consequences. There are some surprising opportunities for partnerships in funding and implementing adaptation.

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Coastal Flood Management 3 - Adapting Existing Buildings & Neighbourhoods

 

Adapting Existing Buildings & Neighbourhoods

We need to avoid building new communities in locations where they will have to be relocated when sea levels rise. Where buildings and neighbourhoods already exist in a coastal floodplain, adaptation innovations can reduce the consequences of coastal flooding.

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Coastal Flood Management 4 - Design of Raised Shorelines

 

Design of Raised Shorelines

Rising seas may create a need to raise shorelines at existing developments – by dikes, floodwalls, or raised beaches. Careful site-specific design is required for all types of raised shorelines.

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Coastal Flood Management 5 - Green Shores

 

Green Shores

Green Shores strive to work with shoreline physical and biological processes to adapt to sea level rise. They often include a raised beach with gentle slopes of sand and gravel, and protect or re-introduce shoreline native vegetation to provide habitat and filter pollutants.

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Coastal Flood Management 6 - Integration into Urban Design

 

Integration into Urban Design

High density and mixed use developments can be compatible with climate change. But there are urban design challenges that will require creative solutions, including how raised floors relate to streets, and in phasing of adaptation as redevelopment occurs incrementally.

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