Sea Level Rise, Coastal Flood Risk, and Social Vulnerability Workshop #2: Gulfport, MS
Climate Central, EEECHO, and NAACP co-led a sea level rise workshop on October 17, 2016 in Gulfport, Mississippi for NAACP environmental officers and community stakeholders from across the Gulf state region.
The workshop included presentations by individuals from Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, NAACP's Environmental and Climate Justice Program, Climate Central's Program on Sea Level Rise, and the University of Southern Mississippi. In the afternoon participants tried out two sea level rise and coastal flood risk web tools: Surging Seas Risk Finder and NOAA's Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper.
The event was covered by Fox News 25. Access workshop listings here.
Snapshot of the event:
PROGRAM
FACILITATORS
- Jacqueline Patterson, Environmental and Climate Justice Program, NAACP
- Kathy Egland, Chairman of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Board Committee
- Dan Rizza, Program on Sea Level Rise, Climate Central
PROGRAM
Kathy Egland, Chairman of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Board Committee | Introduction
Jacqui Patterson, NAACP | Overview of Agenda/NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program Summary | Download PDF
Dr. Tracie Sempier, Coastal Storms Outreach Coordinator, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium | Overview of Sea Grant Resilience Activities in the Gulf Coast
Dr. Wei Wu, Associate Professor, Landscape Ecology, Department of Coastal Sciences, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, The University of Southern Mississippi | Overview of Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Risk Science
Dan Rizza, Climate Central | Overview of Surging Seas Risk Finder Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Risk Web Tool (http://riskfinder.climatecentral.org/)
Marian Hanisko, NOAA Office for Coastal Management | Overview of NOAA's Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper
Group Discussion / Q&A
Tools Café: Attendees divided into 2 groups for two 45 minute sessions to try out both mapping tools covered in the morning session: Surging Seas Risk Finder and NOAA's Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper. 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:
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