Living by the Rules of the Sea

by Bush, David M.; Pilkey, Orrin H.; Neal, William J.

• ISBN13: 9780822318019
• ISBN10: 0822318016
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-11-01
• Publisher: Duke Univ Pr

Summary

This is a primer for people living along the nation's coastlines, those considering moving to the coast, or those who want a greater understanding of the risks and dangers posed by living at the seacoast.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	vii
Preface	xi
Bigger Disasters Building to Happen	1	(8)
Coastal Population Bomb	4	(2)
Hazards, Vulnerability, Risk, and Mitigation	6	(1)
What's Wrong with this Island?	6	(3)
Learning the Rules	9	(10)
Barrier Islands: Built-In Hazards	9	(3)
Playing by the Rules	12	(1)
Island Risk Assessment	13	(1)
Property Damage Mitigation: Regulatory, Structural, Natural	14	(1)
PAR: Preserve, Augment, Restore	15	(1)
The Rules of the Sea	16	(3)
Storm Processes as Coastal Hazards	19	(22)
Natural Processes: Energy in Motion	19	(5)
Wind	20	(1)
Storm Waves	20	(2)
Storm Surge	22	(1)
Currents	22	(1)
Storm-Surge Ebb	23	(1)
Human Modification of the Coast	24	(1)
Sediment Supply: No Deposit-No Return	24	(2)
Vegetation Cover: The Cap on the Deposit	26	(1)
The Physical Nature of Hurricanes: All the Processes Rolled into One	26	(1)
Hurricane Probability and Rank	27	(1)
Wind: The Universal Agent of Destruction	28	(1)
Waves: Interfacing with Air, Sea, and Land	28	(1)
Storm Surge: Landfall and Coming Ashore	29	(1)
Firms and Surge: Defining the Storm-Surge Risk	30	(1)
Storm-Surge Ebb: Water Returns to the Sea	31	(1)
Hurricane Hugo: What We Learned	32	(5)
Storm History	33	(1)
Impacts of Hurricane Hugo	33	(2)
Storm-Surge Ebb Effects	35	(2)
Role of Vegetation	37	(1)
Extratropical Storms: Don't Write Them Off	37	(1)
Anatomy of a Winter Storm	38	(1)
Ranking Northeasters	39	(1)
What Happens in a ``Storm of the Century''?	40	(1)
Coastal Risk Assessment	41	(24)
Storm Experience Sets New Directions	41	(1)
Coastal Environments and Associated Hazards	41	(5)
Hazard Zones	46	(2)
Extreme Hazard	46	(1)
High Hazard	46	(1)
Moderate Hazard	47	(1)
Low Hazard	48	(1)
Coastal Risk Mapping Technique	48	(3)
Preliminary Analysis Map	51	(3)
Revised Risk Map	54	(3)
Variable Scales	57	(2)
Inter-Island Scale	57	(1)
Inter-Island Scale	58	(1)
Individual Building Scale	59	(1)
The Need for Updating	59	(6)
Evolving Approaches to Property Damage Mitigation: Focusing on the Island Front through Engineering and Regulation	65	(38)
Victims of History?	65	(1)
The Great Age of Engineering	66	(3)
The Sea Bright, New Jersey, Example	68	(1)
The Shift from Engineering to Regulation	69	(1)
Next Step in Property Damage Mitigation: for the Course	70	(1)
Hard Stabilization: Hold That Line	70	(10)
Shore-Parallel Structures on Land	71	(1)
Seawalls	71	(1)
Bulkheads	71	(1)
Revetments	72	(1)
Sandbags	72	(1)
Gabions	72	(2)
Environmental Impact of Seawalls	74	(1)
Unwise Building Location: Major Structure	75	(1)
Seawalls, Sediment Loss, and Narrowing Beaches	75	(1)
Lengthening Walls and Narrowing Beaches	76	(1)
Offshore Breakwaters	76	(1)
Shore-Perpendicular Structures	77	(1)
Groins	77	(1)
Jetties	78	(1)
Hard Stabilization: A Final Word	79	(1)
Soft Stabilization	80	(13)
Beach Replenishment	80	(3)
Project Promises, Politics, and Predictions	83	(1)
A Test of Beach Replenishment Design Validity	84	(1)
``Free'' Beach Replenishment	85	(1)
Beach Scraping (Bulldozing)	86	(1)
Dune Building	87	(2)
Plugging Dune Gaps	89	(1)
Dune Management	89	(1)
Principles of Sand Fencing	90	(1)
Unneeded Dune Building	91	(1)
Living with an Accreting Beach	92	(1)
Soft Stabilization: A Final Word	92	(1)
Relocation: Move 'Em off the Line	93	(8)
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: Move It or Lose It!	94	(3)
The 10/100-Year Relocation Concept	97	(1)
The Need for Long-Term Relocation Planning: Bogue Banks, North Carolina	98	(1)
Nags Head, North Carolina: Town on the Move	98	(1)
Setback for Protection	99	(1)
Deep Property Lots for Future Relocation	100	(1)
Relocation: A Final Word	101	(1)
System-Oriented Mitigation: Preserve, Augment, and Restore Nature	101	(2)
Property Damage Mitigation Back from the Beach	103	(20)
How to Come Back ``Better''	103	(1)
Mitigation Based on Mapping	104	(1)
Island Interior Dunes	105	(2)
Coastal Vegetation	107	(4)
Maritime Forest	108	(1)
Mangroves	109	(1)
Lagoonside Marsh Growth	110	(1)
Orientation and Placement of Roads and Services	111	(3)
Road Elevation	113	(1)
The Complexity of Barrier Islands: Island Morphology	114	(1)
Finger Canals	115	(1)
Swashbuckling	116	(1)
Hazards under Construction	117	(1)
Offshore Rubble	117	(1)
Manufactured Housing	118	(1)
Case Study: A Plan for Folly Beach, South Carolina	118	(4)
The Sand Commandments	122	(1)
The In-Between Case: Inlets and Property Damage Mitigation	123	(14)
Inlet Dynamics	124	(3)
Relict Inlets	127	(1)
Historical Inlets	128	(2)
Inlet Hazard Area, Historical Inlet: Folly Island, South Carolina	130	(1)
Modern Inlets	130	(6)
A Stable Modern Inlet: Bogue Inlet, North Carolina	130	(1)
A Migrating Modern Inlet: New Topsail Inlet, North Carolina	131	(2)
A Dredged Modern Inlet: New River Inlet, North Carolina	133	(1)
A Relocated Modern Inlet: Sunset Beach, North Carolina	134	(2)
Potential Inlet Locations and Newly Formed Inlets	136	(1)
Coastal Zone Hazards and Mitigation Options	137	(8)
Rules and Reality	137	(2)
When to Mitigate	139	(1)
Mitigation Options Summary	139	(2)
Fantasy Island	141	(2)
A Complex Picture	143	(2)
Selected Risk Assessment and Property Damage Mitigation Recommendations: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts	145	(18)
Southampton, Long Island, New York	147	(2)
Southampton Risk Assessment and Mitigation Recommendations	149	(1)
Bogue Banks, North Carolina	149	(4)
Bogue Banks Risk Assessment and Mitigation Recommendations	151	(2)
Fernandina Beach, Florida Atlantic Coast	153	(3)
Fernandina Beach Risk Assessment and Mitigation Recommendations	154	(2)
Venice Beach, Florida Gulf Coast	156	(2)
Venice Beach Risk Assessment and Mitigation Recommendations	157	(1)
Wakulla County, Florida ``Zero-Energy'' Coast	158	(2)
Wakulla County Risk Assessment and Mitigation Recommendations	159	(1)
Galveston Island, Texas	160	(2)
Galveston Island Risk Assessment and Mitigation Recommendations	160	(2)
Commonality of Coastal Communities	162	(1)
Principles of Property Damage Mitigation	163	(8)
Lessons for Coastal Management	164	(3)
The Coastal Processes Approach	167	(1)
Hazards, Economics, and Politics	167	(4)
Appendix: Agencies Involved in Coastal Issues	171	(2)
References	173	(4)
Index	177