Surging Seas Sea level rise analysis by Climate Central

Sea Level Rise & Social Vulnerability Workshop: Houston, Texas

NAACP and Climate Central held a Flood Risk, Sea Level Rise, and Social Vulnerability Workshop on September 24, 2016 in Houston, Texas that was attended by NAACP environmental officers and community stakeholders from across the region.

The workshop included presentations by individuals from the Texas Coastal Watershed Program and Texas Sea Grant, Climate Central's Program on Sea Level Rise and NAACP's Environmental and Climate Justice Program, as well as the Flood Czar of Houston. 

Following the Q&A panel and discussion, participants tried out two sea level rise and coastal flood risk web tools: Surging Seas Risk Finder and the Community Health and Resources Management mapping application (CHARM).

FACILITATORS

  • Jacqueline Patterson, Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP
  • Dr. Jacqueline Smith, Chair, ECJ Committee NAACP Houston Branch
  • Dan Rizza, Program on Sea Level Rise, Climate Central

PROGRAM

Dr. Jacqueline Smith, Chair, ECJ Committee NAACP Houston Branch | Introduction

Jacqui Patterson, NAACP | Overview of Agenda/NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program Summary | Download Slides

Dr. John Jacob | Director, Texas Coastal Watershed Program; Extension Specialist, Texas Sea Grant, Texas A&M; Galveston Baykeeper | Flooding, sea level rise, and vulnerability

Stephen C. Costello, Chief Resilience Officer (“Flood Czar”) City of Houston

Dan Rizza, Climate Central | Overview of Surging Seas Risk Finder Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Risk Web Tool (http://riskfinder.climatecentral.org/)

Steve Mikulencak, Texas Sea Grant Watershed Program | Overview of CHARM Community Health and Resources Management mapping application (http://tcwp.tamu.edu/charm/)

Group Discussion / Q&A

Tools Café: Explore the potential impacts where your communities are located and see how you might use the tools to better understand and communicate these risks. 

Overview of Surging Seas Risk Finder

Overview of CHARM Community Health and Resources Management mapping application. 

Wrap-up and Next Steps

Overview:

Climate Central's Program on Sea Level Rise works jointly with the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) Program and local partners to conduct workshops on sea level rise, coastal flood risk, and social vulnerability.

These workshops provide NAACP environmental leaders, NAACP branch presidents, and other stakeholders with information, tools, and science regarding the risks posed by rising seas and coastal flooding. Additionally, each workshop connects attendees with resources and experts available to them in their states or communities as they work to prepare for sea level rise and coastal flood risk.

Presenters have included officials from NOAA, Sea Grant, FEMA, NAACP, and Climate Central as well as leading scientists, state/county/municipal planners, and resilience officers. Attendees participate in interactive demonstrations of sea level rise and coastal flood web tools by Climate Central, NOAA, and others. Many workshops have included planning sessions in which attendees build out their own local level action plans.

Funding to support Climate Central's workshop efforts is provided by the Kresge Foundation and other foundations.

View completed workshops, case studies, events | Contact us at sealevel@climatecentral.org