COASTAL RESILIENCY: MULTI-TIER PROTECTION SYSTEM & RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Abstract

North Atlantic hurricanes pose a significant threat to Caribbean islands and their low-lying coastal communities through storm surge, long period swells, coastal flooding, and duration wind and rain events. The increasing intensity and frequency of these damaging storms and rising sea levels require advances in the traditional approaches to coastal protection systems and risk management strategies. Adaptation strategies for coastal locations that do not have the option of mitigated retreat due to the significant infrastructure investment require innovative and tailored solutions to combat the threat of these storm events. In this paper, an 18-year case study of a Caribbean island Resort evaluates a long-term cumulative process of providing coastal protection solutions in stepped tiers and assessing their effectiveness over four Category 4 hurricanes (Lenny, 1998; Omar, 2008; Earl, 2010; Matthew, 2016).