The SC Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and partners convened the North Coast communities (Horry and Georgetown Counties) and stakeholders, leading to a multi-year plan to address local flooding. The next phase will implement elements of this plan including 1) an assessment of the spatial extent of flooding, 2) explicit identification of features that need to be protected or restored to reduce, or not worsen, future flooding, 3) inclusion of resilience results into county and city comprehensive plans, and 4) identification of restoration projects that communities can implement to reduce flooding.

This effort is being led by a Steering Committee comprised of staff from Clemson University, Horry County, North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control, US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Waccamaw Council of Governments. We are currently completing a GIS analysis to identify routinely flooded areas and the landscape areas that absorb flood waters. Stakeholders with on-the-ground knowledge of extreme weather events will provide input into the flood models. Once the flooded areas are identified, we will work with focus groups of community members and local staff to identify and rank implementation projects using a scoring matrix to identify the highest needs for restoration. We will produce detailed descriptions on cost and other resources needed for each project to provide the communities with shovel-ready project plans that can be implemented when funding becomes available.

Incorporating the resilience results into county and municipal plans is a vital outcome for future adaptation and planning. Through education and outreach with county and municipal planning directors, we will seek opportunities for both the individual restoration projects and the resiliency analysis to be adopted into their Comprehensive Plans, which are currently being updated.

As of March 2018, projects have been identified for Horry County, and Clemson is initializing the cost analysis. The Georgetown County flood analysis will be wrapped up soon with a Focus Group meeting planned for the summer. Join TNC's Marine Program Manager, Joy Brown, to hear more about how the project started at a regional scale and the process to define parcel level nature-based projects to reduce flooding impacts in the North Coast.

Charleston has experienced flooding up to 50 days a year for the last 3 years. Tidal flooding, which can occur on a sunny day, is predicted to occur up to 180 days a year by 2040. Flooding causes disruption in many ways: increased traffic congestion, loss of productivity and business interruption, property damage, and strained resources and services, making it essential to learn to adapt and coexist with water. We have also experienced three hurricanes, one extreme snow storm and now tornadoes have become a more frequent occurrence in the last three years making it essential to learn to adapt to multiple forms of weather-related events.

This presentation will share lessons learned from our most extreme events. We will show what steps we have taken and plans we have to continue to adapt and coexist with these events.

Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, and with recovery efforts still underway, it is considered the worst storm in the Caribbean Island’s history. This session is focused on how a native and professional biologist from Puerto Rico weathered the storm and quickly acted as a key member of the operational team at one of the Island’s most important critical infrastructure facilities — the SJU Airport. Examples and analyses of resiliency planning efforts will be discussed, with attention to critical infrastructure emergency planning. Several initiatives developed by the Puerto Rico Climate Change Council and other stakeholders will also be presented, which serve as good examples on how the Island has been working to address coastal development and existing vulnerabilities. Information will also be offered on how some strategies were modified after Hurricane Maria and the valuable role many non-governmental organizations have had in the reconstruction of Puerto Rico. Lessons learned, future challenges, impasse avoidance, and cultural adaptability will be a key point throughout the presentation.