ABSTRACT
More and more people are living near ocean and estuarine coasts. Coastal watershed counties are home to about 50 per cent of the US population, and 29 per cent of the US population lives in areas subject to the effects of sea level rise. It seems that everyone wants a waterfront view, and beachfront property has become some of the most expensive real estate in the country. Small beach cottages have given way in recent decades to luxurious multistory houses, and in South Florida some high-rise condominium complexes are approaching US$500 million valuations. The ‘Gold Coast’ of Florida alone, which runs along the southeastern coast between Palm Beach and Miami, has an appraised value exceeding US$1.3 trillion. At the same time, the coast is facing a number of threats. Hurricanes are a regular occurrence along the East and Gulf coasts of the US: during the 20th century, 167 tropical storms made landfall. In addition to the problems arising directly from coastal construction in areas where storms are routine, increasing sea level results in coastal erosion and wetlands loss. The result is that fixed structures are increasingly exposed to storm waves and surges (see Figure 10.1). Storm damage on the south shore of Long Island: Narrow beaches enable storm wave energy to reach fixed structures https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781849772679/cbb7f19a-b3ed-4b1d-92db-b60bfc8e168e/content/fig10_1_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Source:International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC), Florida International University, Miami, Florida.
