Integrating urban traffic models with coastal flood maps to quantify the resilience of traffic systems to episodic coastal flooding

Abstract

Sea level rise and coastal floods are disrupting coastal communities across the world. The impacts of coastal floods are magnified by the disruption of critical urban systems such as transportation. The flood-related closure of low-lying coastal roads and highways can increase travel time delays and accident risk. However, quantifying the flood-related disruption of the urban traffic system presents challenges. Traffic systems are complex and highly dynamic, where congestion resulting from road closures may propagate rapidly from one area to another. Prior studies identify flood-related road closures by spatially overlaying coastal flood maps onto road network models, but simplifications within the representation of the road network with respect to the coastline or creeks may lead to an incorrect identification of flooded roads. We identify three corrections to reduce potential biases in the identification of flooded roads: 1. We correct for the geometry of highways; 2. We correct for the elevation of bridges and highway overpasses; and 3. We identify and account for road-creek crossings. Accounting for these three corrections, we develop a methodology for accurately identifying flooded roads, improving our ability to quantify flood impacts on urban traffic systems and accident rates.

Volume Estimation From Planform Characteristics of Washover Morphology

“…Our results suggest promising potential for using scaling relationships to estimate from remotely sensed imagery washover contributions to barrier system sediment budgets, in any barrier setting. Estimation of washover bulk volume from measurement of washover planforms evident in remotely sensed imagery could inform post‐storm clean‐up operations and quantify impacts to critical infrastructure, such as road networks (Aldabet et al., 2022; Kasmalkar et al., 2021; Velasquez‐Montoya et al., 2021)—information relevant to planners and authorities responsible for emergency management, among other essential services. Paired comparisons between non‐built and built barrier settings are a means of understanding how the latter function as geomorphic systems in their own right (Nordstrom, 1994), and how the two types of settings may evolve in divergent ways with changes in climate‐driven forcing.…”

Volume estimation from planform characteristics of washover morphology

“…Our results suggest promising potential for using scaling relationships to estimate from remotely sensed imagery washover contributions to barrier system sediment budgets, in any barrier setting. Estimation of washover bulk volume from measurement of washover planforms evident in remotely sensed imagery could inform post-storm clean-up operations and quantify impacts to critical infrastructure, such as road networks (Aldabet et al, 2022;Kasmalkar et al, 2021;Velasquez-Montoya et al, 2021)-information relevant to planners and authorities responsible for emergency management, among other essential services. Paired comparisons between non-built and built barrier settings are a means of understanding how the latter function as geomorphic systems in their own right (Nordstrom, 1994), and how the two types of settings may evolve in divergent ways with changes in climate-driven forcing.…”

Sea level rise already delays coastal commuters

“…Given the interconnectedness of coastal communities, e.g. via commuting (Kasmalkar et al 2021), SLR impacts will likely indirectly affect inland, higher elevation coastal areas. The extent to which coastal commutes might be delayed due to inundation on roadways is presently uncertain for the coastal United States.…”