Application of STORMTOOLS Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) to Inform State and Local Planning and Decision Making along the Southern RI Shoreline

Spaulding, Malcolm L.; Grilli, Annette R.; Damon, Chris; Crean, Teresa; Fugate, Grover

doi:10.3390/jmse8040295

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…They are called STORMTOOLS Design Elevation (SDE) maps in recognition of their use to support the design of coastal structures and infrastructure. The maps are also an integral part of the STORMTOOLS Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) [10][11][12] which assesses the risk that structures and infrastructure face from storm surges, including flooding and the associated wave environment, in the presence of sea level rise (SLR), and shoreline erosion/accretion, based on estimating damage to structures in the impacted area.…”

Section: Approach and Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Stormtools Design Elevation (SDE) Maps: Including Impact of Sea Level Rise

Spaulding¹,

Grilli²,

Damon

et al. 2020

JMSE

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Many coastal communities in the US use base flood elevation (BFE) maps for the 100-year return period, specified on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), to design structures and infrastructure. The FIRMs are increasingly known to have serious problems in accurately specifying the risk coastal communities face, as most recently evidenced during hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017 and Florence and Michael in 2018. The FIRM BFE maps also do not include the impact of sea level rise, which clearly needs to be considered in the design of coastal structures over the next several decades given recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sea level rise (SLR) projections. Here, we generate alternative BFE maps (STORMTOOLS Design Elevation (SDE) maps) for coastal waters of Rhode Island (RI) using surge predictions from tropical and extratropical storms of the coupled surge-wave models from the US Army Corp of Engineers, North Atlantic Comprehensive Coast Study (NACCS). Wave predictions are based on application of a steady state, spectral wave model (STWAVE), while impacts of coastal erosion/accretion and changes of geomorphology are modeled using XBeach. The high-resolution application of XBeach to the southern RI shoreline has dramatically increased the ability to represent the details of dune erosion and overtopping and the associated development of surge channels and over-wash fans and the resulting landward impact on inundation and waves. All methods used were consistent with FEMA guidelines for the study area and used FEMA-approved models. Maps were generated for 0, 2 ft (0.6 m), 5 ft (1.5 m), 7 ft (2.1 m), and 10 ft (3.1 m) of sea level rise, reflecting NOAA high estimates at various times for the study area through 2100. Results of the simulations are shown for both the southern RI shoreline (South Coast) and Narragansett Bay, to facilitate communication of projected BFEs to the general public. The maps are hosted on the STORMTOOLS ESRI Hub to facilitate access to the data. They are also now part of the RI Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) risk-based permitting system. The user interface allows access to all supporting data including grade elevation, inundation depth, and wave crest heights as well as corresponding FEMA FIRM BFEs and associated zones.

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Section: Approach and Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Stormtools Design Elevation (SDE) Maps: Including Impact of Sea Level Rise

Spaulding¹,

Grilli²,

Damon

et al. 2020

JMSE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In 2016 STORMTOOLs was extended to include a Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) [2][3][4][5] and the supporting STORMTOOLS Design Elevation (SDE) maps [6]. CERI was developed to provide estimates of the damage to individual structures in coastal areas affected by inundation and waves [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…XBeach, an integrated hydrodynamic and geomorphological model, was used in developing the SDE maps to represent storm induced erosion and breaching of the dune/barrier systems that characterize the southern RI shoreline. CERI has been applied to all communities located along the southern RI shoreline [5] as well as selected communities in Narragansett Bay, RI [4], and is currently being extended to all coastal communities in the state. The southern RI shoreline communities are characterized by a wave exposed shoreline with significant coastal erosion [11], while those in the bay experience a more limited wave environment and little coastal erosion, but an amplification of the storm surge as it progresses up the bay [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development and Application of STORMTOOLS Design Load (SDL) Maps

Silverman

Engelman

Leone³

et al. 2021

JMSE

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Under the STORMTOOLS initiative, maps of the impact of sea level rise (SLR) (0 to 12 ft), nuisance flooding (1–10 yr), 25, 50, and 100 yr storms, and hindcasts of the four top ranked tropical storms have been developed for the coastal waters of Rhode Island (RI). Estimates of the design elevations, expressed in terms of the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) and thus incorporating surge and associated wave conditions, have also been developed, including the effects of SLR to facilitate structural design. Finally, Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) maps have been developed to estimate the risk to individual structures and infrastructure. CERI employs the BFE maps in concert with damage curves for residential and commercial structures to make estimates of damage to individual structures. All maps are available via an ArcGIS Hub. The objective of this senior design capstone project was to develop STORMTOOLS Design Load maps (SDL) with a goal of estimating the hydrostatic, hydrodynamic, wave, and debris loading, based on ASCE/SEI 7–16 Minimum Design Standards methods, on residential structures in the RI coastal floodplain. The resulting maps display the unitized loads and thus can be scaled for any structure of interest. The goal of the maps is to provide environmental loads that support the design of structures, and reduce the time and cost required in performing the design and the permitting process, while also improving the accuracy and consistency of the designs. SDL maps were generated for all loads, including the effects of SLR for a test case: the Watch Hill/Misquamicut Beach, Westerly, along the southern RI coast. The Autodesk Professional Robot Structural Analysis software, along with SDL loading, was used to evaluate the designs for selected on-grade and pile-elevated residential structures. Damage curves were generated for each and shown to be consistent with the US Army Corps of Engineers empirical damage curves currently used in CERI.

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“…Application of CERI to Barrington, Bristol, and Warren, RI, inside Narragansett Bay (a low-lying area, with very high housing density), was recently completed and again funded by HUD-CDBG [11]. Funding for CERIs' application to other communities along the southern RI coastline was received from the NOAA Office of Coastal Management (OCM), Program of Special Merit (PSM) (NOAA-OCM-PSM) and completed earlier this year [12]. Flooding and wave maps, including the effects of SLR, have been completed and were available to specify the BFEs (SDE maps).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

STORMTOOLS, Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) Risk and Damage Assessment App

Spaulding

Grilli

Damon

et al. 2020

JMSE

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STORMTOOLS Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) predicts the coastal flooding damage to individual structures using coastal flooding levels, including the effects of sea level rise (SLR), provided in terms of the base flood elevation (BFE), specifications of the structure of interest (type and first floor elevation) and the associated damage functions from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS). CERI has been applied to selected coastal communities in Rhode Island, including those in Narragansett Bay and along the southern Rhode Island shoreline. Users can access the results of CERI via ArcGIS online at the CERI website. The objective of this effort was to develop, test, distribute, and evaluate a mobile phone application (App) that allows the user to assess the risk from coastal flooding and the associated damage at the individual structure level using the CERI methodology. The App is publicly available and has been developed for both iOS and Android operating systems. Environmental data to support the App, in terms of 100 y flood BFE maps, including the effects of SLR and the selected site grade elevation, are provided in the application by the URI Environmental Data Center (EDC). The user enters the location and type of the structure of interest (residential number of stories, with or without basement, pile supported or commercial building and the first-floor elevation (FFE)) and the desired SLR. The App then calculates the percent structural damage based on the specified environmental conditions and structure specifications. The App can be applied to any structure at any coastal location within the state. The CERI App development project has been guided by an Advisory Board made up of key constituents involved in coastal management and development in the state. The effort included extensive testing of the App by various user groups. The App structure makes it simple and straightforward to transfer to coastal and inland flooded areas in other locations, requiring only the specification of BFEs and grade elevations.

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Application of STORMTOOLS Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) to Inform State and Local Planning and Decision Making along the Southern RI Shoreline

Cited by 4 publications

References 9 publications

Stormtools Design Elevation (SDE) Maps: Including Impact of Sea Level Rise

Stormtools Design Elevation (SDE) Maps: Including Impact of Sea Level Rise

Development and Application of STORMTOOLS Design Load (SDL) Maps

STORMTOOLS, Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) Risk and Damage Assessment App

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