Introduction to Marylands COASTAL HAZARDS

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Introduction to Marylands COASTAL
HAZARDS
Introduction to Marylands COASTAL
HAZARDS
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Introduction to Marylands COASTAL
HAZARDS

• Presentation Overview
• What are coastal hazards?
• How do coastal hazards impact people living or
  working in Marylands Coastal Zone?

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Introduction to Marylands COASTAL
HAZARDS

• PRESENTATION GOAL
• To assist you with understanding Marylands
  coastal hazards and to be aware of your risk and
  environmental and management issues associated
  with addressing these events.

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WHAT ARE COASTAL HAZARDS

• NATURAL and MAN-MADE events that threaten the
  health of coastal ecosystems and communities.
  This definition includes, but is not limited to,
  hurricanes, tsunamis, erosion, oil spills,
  harmful algal blooms, and pollution.
• This presentation will focus on natural coastal
  hazards that occur in Maryland such as
• storms,
• erosion,
• sea level rise
• coastal flooding/storm surge.

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WHERE DO COASTAL HAZARDS OCCUR

• Ocean front
• In sheltered coastlines like Chesapeake Bay
• Along tributaries and in the Watershed
• All of these areas are part of the Coastal Zone

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THE COASTAL ZONE

• Where is the Coastal Zone in Maryland?

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THE COASTAL ZONE

• In Maryland, the coastal zone includes the
  area in dark grey, which has over 7,700 miles of
  tidal shoreline and many diverse landscapes.

The Coastal Zone is Home to 70 of Marylands
residents
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THE COASTAL ZONE

• These diverse landscapes include the

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THE COASTAL ZONE

• These diverse landscapes include the

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THE COASTAL ZONE

• These diverse landscapes include the

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WHY IS MARYLAND VULNERABLE TO COASTAL
HAZARDS?
low-lying topography and soil types
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WHY IS MARYLAND VULNERABLE TO COASTAL HAZARDS?
Due to placing property and lives in
inappropriate areas
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TYPES OF COASTAL HAZARDS
Forces of Nature Storms

• Nature is constantly at work shaping and
  reshaping Earths surface.
• Meteorological events, such as hurricanes and
  noreasters, are seasonal.

Hurricane Isabel as it approached landfall at
Cape Hatteras, NC, 2003
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TYPES OF COASTAL HAZARDS
Forces of Nature Geological Processes

• Geological forces like waves, erosion and sea
  level rise affect our shorelines on a daily
  basis.

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TYPES OF COASTAL HAZARDS
Forces of Nature Sea Level Rise

• The average rate of sea level rise in Maryland is
  between 3-4mm per year (or 1 foot per century) a
  rate nearly twice the national average.

Sharps Island Lighthouse constructed in 1881,
once situated on a 900 acre island, now
completely submerged.
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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS
Nationally and regionally, more and more people
are moving to our coastal communities
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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS
When people move to dynamic coastal areas, the
intensive development we establish along
coastlines actually interferes with natural
coastal processes.

Ocean City, Maryland
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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS
Interfering with natural coastal processes can
have negative impacts such as
Increasing Erosion

Sediment staved shoreline due to structure
placement.
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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS
In order to prevent erosion, people build hard
defensive structures

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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS
But they may be helping to accelerate the erosion
hazard or cause the loss of near shore habitat
and beach

Scour of sediment from the front of the bulkhead
leads to deepening of water and loss of
intertidal habitat like marshes and beaches
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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS

Seawalls and bulkheads deflects energy of waves
as opposed to native vegetation which absorbs and
buffers the energy.
Baffling by plants slope reduces incoming wave
energy.
Un-baffled wave energy reflects down back.
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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS

Seawalls and bulkheads deflects energy of waves
as opposed to native vegetation which absorbs and
buffers the energy.
Baffling by plants slope reduces incoming wave
energy.
Bank scour
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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS
When people move to dynamic coastal areas, the
intensive development we establish along
coastlines, they become more vulnerable to storms
and flooding.

Ocean City, Maryland
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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS
Coastal flood events are often devastating to
local community, and regional economy.

Damage to homes at Chesapeake Beach, Maryland,
caused by Tropical Storm Isabel storm surge.
Photo courtesy of Zoe Johnson.
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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS
Our most recent coastal flood event occurred in
2003, when Hurricane Isabel pushed water up the
Bay causing the sea to temporarily rise as much
as 10 feet in some places.

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COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS

The natural rise of the sea throughout time in
response to change in global climate and local
land changes, know as SEA LEVEL RISE, is also
increasing our vulnerability to flooding.

A place that may be safe to live in now may
become vulnerable to flooding and erosion in the
future.
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Together, storms, ongoing daily coastal
processes, and sea level rise result in
COASTAL HAZARDS TRENDS
Approximately 69 of Marylands coast is
currently eroding.
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Management Responses

So what are the options to address Coastal
Hazards in Maryland?

• Do nothing/abandon against a changing climate and
  shoreline environment.
• Example Succumb to nature by abandon upon
  losing the property, allowing the shore to return
  to a natural state

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Management Responses

So what are the options to address Coastal
Hazards in Maryland?
2) Adapt/Accommodate to a changing climate and
shoreline environment Example Adjust the design
of a home so it can survive a flood event such as
elevating a structure

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Management Responses

So what are the options to address Coastal
Hazards in Maryland?
3) Retreat from a change climate and shoreline
environment Example Moving the house farther
back on the property away from the shoreline

CTDEP
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Management Responses

So what are the options to address Coastal
Hazards in Maryland?
4) Defend against a change climate and shoreline
environment Example build a defensive
structure to address land loss

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Management Program

Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) works to
address shoreline erosion and coastal hazards and
development in America and some Island
territories.

The philosophy of the CZMA on Coastal Hazards is
simple Promote Community Resiliency and
Sustainability
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Management Program

It is wise and less costly to be build smart and
with the natural system than to remedy the
problem after development has occurred

CTDEP
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Coastal Zone Management Program

• CZMA IS COASTAL LEGISLATION, but leaves
  day-to-day regulating and management decisions to
  the State under federally approved coastal
  management programs.
• Currently, 95,376 national shoreline miles
  (99.9) are managed by the Program. State and
  federal coastal zone management efforts are
  guided under three major themes
• Sustainable Coastal Communities,
• Sustainable Coastal Ecosystems, and
• Improved Government Efficiency.

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Coastal Zone Management Program

The CZMP assists with several things to reduce
the impacts of coastal hazards on local
communities such as

• Mapping monitoring coastal erosion
• Create setback permitting systems to limit
  development in the most dangerous areas
• Establish plans for rebuilding after disasters
• Develop relocation policies beach nourishment
  programs to help restore the natural protective
  function of beaches dunes

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Coastal Zone Management Program

The CZMP assists with several things to reduce
the impacts of coastal hazards on local
communities such as

• Establish and protect buffer areas (beaches
  wetlands)
• Provide public education on vulnerability
• Coordinate with Agencies that conduct state
  emergency preparedness agencies, and
• Work with FEMA assist with hurricane warning
  systems evacuation plans for coastal residents,
  so that fewer people get injured.

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Maryland Shorelines OnlineCoastal Hazard Web
Portal

• You can learn more about coastal hazards and how
  they impact people, the land, and biological
  communities by using the Maryland Shorelines
  Online (MSO) web portal

http//shorelines.dnr.state.md.us/
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Maryland Shorelines Changes Online
Map Viewer

• An interactive mapping application is also
  available on MSO allowing users to access
  historical shoreline and physical data layers and
  to assess shore erosion trends.

http//shorelines.dnr.state.md.us/launchmapper.asp
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Maryland Shorelines Online Coastal Hazard Lessons

• MSO Coastal Hazard Lessons utilizes the
  interactive web map viewer to allow students to
  conduct in-depth investigations

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Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons
This conceptual model highlights the focus of
the different Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons.
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Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons
Each lesson is represented by its own icon
Coastal Hazards Coastal Processes Human
Activities Weather Sea Level Rise Biological
Communities
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Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons
Yet, each lesson concept is interconnected to
others
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Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons

• Weather seasonal storms, such as hurricanes and
  noreasters.

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Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons

• Coastal Processes waves, longshore current,
  tides, erosion and accretion.

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Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons

• Sea Level Rise tectonic subsistence (land
  sinking, usually due to extraction of ground
  water and minerals), and sea level rise.

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Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons

• Human Activities shoreline development
  (buildings, houses, docks, sea walls, rip-rap
  roads), motor boat wakes/waves, filling or loss
  of wetlands.

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Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons

• Biological Community habitat, plants and
  animals.

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Maryland Coastal Hazards Lessons

• Try out this GIS application and the
• Coastal Hazards Lessons

http//shorelines.dnr.state.md.us/launchmapper.asp