The exercise at Virginia’s Old Dominion University was part of a pilot project figure out how different levels of government, the public, the private sector and academia can work together to fight the effects of sea level rise and climate change.
Boats damaged near Hampton, Va., due to Hurricane Isabel in 2003. (Andrea Booher/FEMA)
(TNS) — This is a test of the region's preparedness for sea level rise and climate change. This is only a test:
It's Aug., 19, 2044. Hurricane Elvis, a Category 3 storm, is bearing down on Hampton Roads.
Sea levels are 1.5 feet higher than today. Because of climate change, the region has had 60 days 90 degrees this year. The National Weather Service is forecasting Elvis storm surges of 3 to 8 feet.
What does Hampton Roads need to do to prepare for something like this?
The scenario was part of a federally led exercise held this week at Old Dominion University.
The daylong "Hampton Roads Climate Adaptation, Preparedness, and Resilience Exercise" was sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with support from the White House.
Keynote speaker Alice Hill, senior adviser for preparedness and resilience for the White House's National Security Council, said the administration is in "total support mode" to help communities prepare for sea level rise and climate change.
Hampton Roads has the highest rate of sea level rise, partly due to sinking land, on the East Coast.
The event was another step in the pilot project announced this summer to figure out how different levels of government, the public, the private sector and academia in Hampton Roads can work together to fight the effects of sea level rise and climate change.
Regional leaders are hoping the area can develop a template for responding to sea level rise that could be used by - and maybe sold to - other coastal communities.
In response to the Hurricane Elvis drill, participants suggested improvements to roads, evacuation and communication processes and power supply stations.
Whitney McNamara, a sustainability planner for Virginia Beach, said consideration should be given to limiting development in areas vulnerable to flooding.
Michelle Covi, an ODU professor who works with the university's Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative, said it doesn't take dramatic events, such as hurricanes, to cause flooding trouble in Hampton Roads.
"What about a summer downpour?" she said, describing a scenario in which an ambulance can't get through high water to a hospital.
The federal attention paid to the region on sea level rise issues is encouraging, said Ray Toll, director of coastal resilience research at ODU.
"That we're getting this visibility is just amazing," he said. "The glass is half full. It's not half empty. We're going to figure this thing out."
©2014 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
It's Aug., 19, 2044. Hurricane Elvis, a Category 3 storm, is bearing down on Hampton Roads.
Sea levels are 1.5 feet higher than today. Because of climate change, the region has had 60 days 90 degrees this year. The National Weather Service is forecasting Elvis storm surges of 3 to 8 feet.
What does Hampton Roads need to do to prepare for something like this?
The scenario was part of a federally led exercise held this week at Old Dominion University.
The daylong "Hampton Roads Climate Adaptation, Preparedness, and Resilience Exercise" was sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with support from the White House.
Keynote speaker Alice Hill, senior adviser for preparedness and resilience for the White House's National Security Council, said the administration is in "total support mode" to help communities prepare for sea level rise and climate change.
Hampton Roads has the highest rate of sea level rise, partly due to sinking land, on the East Coast.
The event was another step in the pilot project announced this summer to figure out how different levels of government, the public, the private sector and academia in Hampton Roads can work together to fight the effects of sea level rise and climate change.
Regional leaders are hoping the area can develop a template for responding to sea level rise that could be used by - and maybe sold to - other coastal communities.
In response to the Hurricane Elvis drill, participants suggested improvements to roads, evacuation and communication processes and power supply stations.
Whitney McNamara, a sustainability planner for Virginia Beach, said consideration should be given to limiting development in areas vulnerable to flooding.
Michelle Covi, an ODU professor who works with the university's Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative, said it doesn't take dramatic events, such as hurricanes, to cause flooding trouble in Hampton Roads.
"What about a summer downpour?" she said, describing a scenario in which an ambulance can't get through high water to a hospital.
The federal attention paid to the region on sea level rise issues is encouraging, said Ray Toll, director of coastal resilience research at ODU.
"That we're getting this visibility is just amazing," he said. "The glass is half full. It's not half empty. We're going to figure this thing out."
©2014 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
www.emergencymgmt.com
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