Category: Flooding
Nested Plans Neck and Neck with Rising Bay
Like Russian dolls, Bay Area preparations for sea level rise finally began fitting together this fall.
Layer Cake of Risk Mapped for Five Bay Area Hotspots
Greenbelt Alliance worked with data and communities to identify 18 sites where social vulnerability, climate hazards and conservation priorities overlapped, then winnowed them down to five hot spots.
Good Neighbors Make Good Disaster Plans
Weathering climate disasters requires more than packing a small go-bag. State planners say real resilience is rooted in connecting with your neighbors.
All Stories
Is the Bay Area Coasting?
Scientist and coastal engineer Kris May shares her views on global versus Bay Area climate experiences in 2023, and the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
Nested Plans Neck and Neck with Rising Bay
Like Russian dolls, Bay Area preparations for sea level rise finally began fitting together this fall.
Layer Cake of Risk Mapped for Five Bay Area Hotspots
Greenbelt Alliance worked with data and communities to identify 18 sites where social vulnerability, climate hazards and conservation priorities overlapped, then winnowed them down to five hot spots.
Good Neighbors Make Good Disaster Plans
Weathering climate disasters requires more than packing a small go-bag. State planners say real resilience is rooted in connecting with your neighbors.
Radio Tale of a Submerged City
The futuristic radio play Forever Wave explores a San Francisco remade by 200 feet of sea level rise. The narrative floats in and out of the thoughts of more than 60 characters over 24 hours.
Being Human in Big Weather
When it rained this May, it felt unexpected. Based on over 150 years of climate data for San Francisco, May typically gets several days with a light rain. But context is key, and we are coming out of three years of drought—a fact which will generally color memories in a drier hue. “If I’ve learned anything it is that people’s perceptions are usually wrong,” says Jan Null….
Return of a Lost Lake
On the heels of the worst drought in 1,200 years, Tulare Lake, at the southern end of California’s San Joaquin Valley, filled and filled again in the heavy rains and runoff, inundating over 100,000 acres. As the Sierra snowpack melts over the next few months, the lake could spread, prompting water managers and locals to reconsider the future of this lake, long thought “dead.”
New Flood Protection Standard for the Peninsula
In San Mateo County, new planning guidance may help cities account for rising seas when approving new developments. OneShoreline’s proposals are stricter than current requirements from federal, state, and local agencies, but those are also evolving. “The intent is to go where we already see regulators are going,” says Makena Wong, a project manager.
Why California’s Water Extremes Are Wilder than Ever — And What We Can Do About It
While alternating between drought and deluge is nothing new for California, climate change is making these swings even more dramatic. New research and new policies will help the state prepare as the boom and bust cycle grows ever wilder.
Picturing Winter on Coyote Creek
In this photo essay, Megan King captures the Coyote Creek watershed swollen with water after winter storms. Last year, she explored something completely different: drought.
Rising Seas Bring the Cryosphere to NYC’s Battery Park City
From New York’s Battery Park City and Staten Island to the Cryosphere, follow sea level rise resilience work in this 13 minute audio story.
How Far Can Metro Harbors Go on Nature-Based Shore Protection?
Typical flood protections rely on engineered structures. But there’s a new push at the national level of the US Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize working with nature. Storm surge plans currently underway in New York, Miami and San Francisco highlight a range of nature-based fixes.