Case Studies | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

Communities, businesses, and individuals are taking action to document their vulnerabilities and build resilience to climate-related impacts. Click dots on the map to preview case studies, or browse stories below the map. Use the drop-down menus above to find stories of interest. To expand your results, click the Clear Filters link.

Exterior rendering of the proposed Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care Center

After Katrina, Health Care Facility's Infrastructure Planned to Withstand Future Flooding

After catastrophic flooding in New Orleans destroyed two hospitals, the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System is planning a replacement facility that will incorporate resilience against future extreme events.

Analyzing Future Urban Growth and Flood Risk in North Carolina

Researchers identified areas vulnerable to urban growth in Pender County, North Carolina. The team analyzed land cover change, mapped wetlands in coastal areas, and used census and business data to determine the level of flood risk in areas with high urbanization. This has helped planners understand trends in the development growth of the county and informed local government planning regulations.

Sunrise on the beach at Corolla, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Building Resilience in the OBX

In North Carolina's Outer Banks, the coastal Town of Nags Head is vulnerable to flooding from heavy rain events, hurricanes, tropical storms, nor’easters, and storm surge. To add insult to injury, vulnerability is increasing with sea level rise. Town managers and residents recognized the need to build the town's resilience and moved forward to prioritize and plan.

Collaboration Among Counties Improves Regional Vulnerability Assessments

To better prepare for current and future sea level rise, four counties in South Florida joined forces to agree upon consistent sea level rise mapping methods.

Designing a Communications Handout About Sea Level Rise

Faced with episodic high-tide flooding, partners in Charleston, South Carolina, calculated the potential extent and frequency of similar flooding in the future. Focus group feedback on this information helped organizers design an informative fact sheet.

waves crash down at the shoreline where large rocks are scattered.

Florida Experiment Lessens Shoreline Damage from High-Energy Waves

Click the link below to read Florida Experiment Lessens Shoreline Damage from High-Energy Waves as published by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management. Florida Experiment Lessens Shoreline Damage from High-Energy Waves »

Grand Isle: Louisiana's First Line of Defense from Coastal Flooding

Lying directly south of New Orleans on Louisiana’s coast, Grand Isle often bears the brunt of strong waves and storm surge in the Gulf of Mexico. To protect this town and inland parishes from flooding, engineers constructed a first line of defense.

Home Elevation Program Helps Demystify The Process

Click the link below to read the Peer-to-Peer Case Study by NOAA's Digital Coast: Home Elevation Program Helps Demystify The Process

Increasing Transportation Resilience in the Gulf Coast

A federal study assessed vulnerabilities of transportation infrastructure to extreme events in Mobile, Alabama. The effort also resulted in tools and approaches that other transportation departments can use to assess and address their own vulnerabilities.

Mandeville, Louisiana: A City that Stays Afloat by Promoting Elevations

The City of Mandeville, located in St. Tammany Parish, decided to commit to helping residents escape troublesome flood waters. Finally tiring of the constant issue of a repeated damage-repair cycle, city officials decided to act by adopting high regulatory standards for the elevation of homes and businesses.

Charleston skyline from Charleston Harbor

Minimizing the Impacts of Coastal Flooding Helps City Prepare for Sea Level Rise

Several times per year, seawater floods some of the streets in Charleston, South Carolina. Taking steps to deal with this "nuisance" flooding can help the city prepare for sea level rise.

Norfolk Establishes Strategy for Coastal Resilience

At the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, the city of Norfolk, Virginia, lies within ten feet of sea level. It's taking steps to envision and implement a resilient future.

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality

Local governments often lack capacity to implement coastal resilience projects. This department provided voluntary incentives for communities to partner with their local governments in developing and implementing resilience strategies.

Planning for the Win! Using a Role Play Simulation to Plan for Climate Adaptation

Following a role play simulation on community planning for climate adaptation in Georgetown County, South Carolina, participants reported increased empathy for differing viewpoints and a high level of support for stakeholder engagement in planning processes.

Quantifying Risk Shows Value of Replacing Highway

Louisiana’s Highway 1 carries a significant fraction of the gas and oil that comes from the Gulf of Mexico to distribution points in the United States. Faced with rising seas and sinking land, would the cost of rebuilding the road be worth the investment it required?

Scenic view through Spanish moss-covered trees in a wetland area of coastal South Carolina

Setting Conservation Priorities for Preserving Wildlife Habitat

At South Carolina's Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, rising seas are threatening the habitats of wetland species. A team modeled how marshes in the refuge are likely to migrate in response to sea level rise, and set targets for conserving additional land for habitats.

Gulfport, MS, August 20, 2010. The new pier was completed with construction funds provided by FEMA to help rebuild the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

Shopping Mall Exhibit Raises Awareness of Sea Level Rise

Residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast are familiar with the flooding hazards associated with storms, yet many are unaware of the risk of sea level rise. Shoppers at a local mall had a chance to explore the potential impacts of sea level rise on their communities.

Show Don't Tell: Visualizing Sea Level Rise to Set Planning Priorities

City officials in Tybee Island, Georgia, recognized sea level rise as a growing problem for their community. Visualizations from a sea level rise viewer helped them raise awareness of the city's vulnerabilities and led to development of Georgia’s first sea level rise plan.

Man strolls along the shoreline of a National Wildlife Refuge scattered with trees that have been effected by saltwater intrusion.

South Carolina’s Lowcountry Prepares for Changing Global Conditions

The coastal plain of South Carolina, known as the Lowcountry, was used to study the role of local conservation groups and broad stakeholder engagement in the process of adaptation planning for coastal ecosystems. This region, rich in cultural heritage and abounding with valuable ecosystem services, has seen impacts caused by urban sprawl, booming tourism, and a strained infrastructure network. Therefore, this area is not only vulnerable to climate change, but also subject to economic, political and social forces.

Students Promote Flood Resilience and Reduce Insurance Costs

Middle school students are working to help residents recognize and reduce flood risk in their coastal Georgia city. Their efforts are also earning the community credits to lower their costs for flood insurance.

Aerial photo of northern Beaufort County’s low-lying sea islands.

The Lowcountry Lowdown on Sea Level Rise

Recognizing increasing risks from sea level rise, leaders in Beaufort County, South Carolina, used a participatory process to help anticipate outcomes and make plans to build their resilience.

Roadway with bridge rising up over ocean water

The Road to Resilience

Frequent and severe inland flooding is an increasing problem for North Carolina's transportation system. A multi-agency team is working to understand the impacts of these floods—and to consider possible solutions.

The Water Institute of the Gulf — Port Fourchon: Supporting Resiliency on an Evolving Coast

To ensure community support for nature-based reuse of dredged material in Port Fourchon, the Water Institute of the Gulf developed a robust outreach and engagement plan and worked with public and private partners to gather stakeholder input and potential project designs and sites.

Aerial view of the City of Virginia Beach oceanfront

Virginia Beach Becomes Sea Level Wise

When Blacksburg's new Sustainability Manager realized that climate change is more than just sea level rise, she lead her inland city toward climate resilience by developing a climate vulnerability assessment.

Skyline of the city of Norfolk, VA along the waterfront. There are a multitude of tall buildings and hotels and a shorter, wide building with the name "WATERSIDE" prominently displayed.

Zoning Ordinance Overhauled To Increase Community Resilience To Flooding

The city of Norfolk, Virginia, is like many other coastal communities facing sea level rise. The city chose to take a bold step to completely overhaul their zoning ordinance to reduce impacts and increase their resilience. Learn more about Norfolk’s innovative resilience zoning ordinance.