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Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction
Reasons for Relocation
Reasons for Relocation
Thanks to accelerating sea level rise, increased flooding, wildfires, and storms communities around the world are struggling with the increasingly pressing question of rebuilding vs evacuating to safer locations, fortifying vs sacrificing.
Purpose of this Page
Purpose of this Page
This page is intended to offer helpful information so that individuals, communities, planners, and leaders can get an idea of which areas are most likely to be difficult and costly to build on or defend, vs which locations and building strategies will more efficient as well as easier to defend.
Priorities & Action Steps
Priorities & Action Steps
Lives are More Important than Property
Lives are More Important than Property
Saving lives should take president over other choices, and those lives include the rescue workers who will inevitably have to rescue people long into the future, reducing the number of people by having them located to safer places can make a big impact on that front.
Cost Analysis
Cost Analysis
In the case of homes and businesses, it is generally cheaper and more sustainable in the long term to simply move people to higher ground, or stop rebuilding in known flood zones and fire or tornado alleys.
More than Money
More than Money
When we think about words like "cost" and "cheaper" our minds often go straight to money, but on this page it may be helpful to consider the time, human energy, and other resources including fossil fuels, wood, and concrete needed to repeatedly rebuild, vs solutions that reduce or eliminate the need to rebuild.
Page Organization
Page Organization
The rest of this page is organized first to help understand location specific risks that may help you assess which places are worth defending and which would be safer to move to.
We follow this with a sections about specific choices people or communities can focus on with their benefits and drawbacks.
Further down the page are resources, organizations, and grant/funding opportunities.
Understand Location-Specific Risks & Benefits
Understand Location-Specific Risks & Benefits
The first step in dealing with a problem is to recognize its existence, and to understand its impact.
Your community might be set on saving a specific land mark for cultural or historical reasons, but if there's no feasible way keep back sea level rise, then locating the building or monument itself may be the best choice.
Sea Level Rise "By 2100 in the USA, coastal population growth and sea level rise could put between 4 and 13 million people at risk of inundation"
Suriname - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: N/A, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 52%
Netherlands - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: 23%, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 49%
Monaco - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: 22%, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 22%
Bahrain - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: 21%, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 24%
Macao - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: 18%, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 23%
Gibraltar - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: 14%, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 14%
Cayman Islands - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: 9%, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 10%
Antigua and Barbuda - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: 6%, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 9%
Hong Kong - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: 6%, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 6%
Belgium - Total Area Covered by Low-Lying Cities: N/A, Total National Population in Flood Zone: 52%
Careful Choice in Relocation/Building Site Choices
Careful Choice in Relocation/Building Site Choices
Along Rivers
Along Rivers
Humans have been building homes, farms, and communities alongside waterways for as long as we've been building homes. Over the centuries, many communities took note of the devastating, but rare floods, each time building higher on the flood plain, or outside of it entirely.
Many cities and countries have laws to protect against builders risking people's lives by building in floodplains. Unfortunately some of these painful lessons have been lost to time (especially after invasions and colonization) leading to people unknowingly building in dangerous lands.
Even with modern knowledge and available maps, some unscrupulous developers have sold unsuspecting people people homes in places that, now, thanks to climate change, can sometimes flood multiple times in one year.
5 Best (and Worst) Places to Build a Home or Village
This 10:33 minute video talks about how different locations can be more dangerous in respect to floods and fires, or advantageous in respect to view, resources, and utility efficiency.
We need to reduce the chance of failed relocation due to predictable threats such as sea level rise. New communities and buildings need to be built with flood mitigation as a primary concern.
Doing so can reduce the chance of themselves flooding, or flooding neighbors down stream, thereby perpetuating the need to relocate or rebuild between current buy-out/evacuation zones and currently habitable ones.
One idea that may help revitalize deteriorating communities inland would be to invest in rebuilding their infrastructure in preparation of sea level and flood evacuees' arrival. Investments for eco-friendly, passive, and renewable infrastructure would help protect the new and old inhabitants against climate change while providing jobs such as food production, circular economy, energy production (such as solar, thermal, wind) from the beginning, rather than the messy rush to retrofit out cities which will cost our current communities millions or more.
Some locations are experiencing population decline due to aging populations combined with lower birth rate. In response they are paying people to move in, live in those areas. Some offer free land or rebates for fixing up historical properties such as farm houses. Some countries even pay parents to have children, so families may find these easier places to resettle. Organizations focusing on helping communizes move should consider these welcoming opportunities, with careful considerations to the evacuees' needs and the terms of the invite. For example: "Antikythera, Greece offers money to families with children with homes and farms deemed acceptable, however priority is given to Greek citizens. Other locations have stipulations about previous felonies, or requiring people live on the land for a set amount of time before qualifying."
Higher Ground
Higher Ground
Communities in low-lying areas are already facing increased flooding, and this will continue to get worse as sea levels rise.
Communities including those living on the island of Carti Sugtupu (also Gardi Sugdub or Crab Island) is suffering from lack of electricity or sewage systems, and is being swallowed up by the surrounding Ocean. The government has helped secure the islanders a safer place on the Panama mainland.
Build with Renewable Energy in Mind
Build with Renewable Energy in Mind
These can include solar, geothermal, wind, or others.
Barriers to Relocation
Barriers to Relocation
One article pointed out that "despite federal buyout programs dating back decades, no official set of best practices or standards exists. Wait times for buyouts take five years on average. Costs for fixes and temporary housing stack up in the interim. Guidance for homeowners on navigating the buyout process is confusing or nonexistent, and relocation policies and funding focus on the individual, not on neighborhoods or communities that want to stay together.
At the local level, communities considering relocation face a range of social and financial barriers. Municipalities don’t tend to encourage relocation, because they don’t want to lose population or tax revenue. And residents—especially those reeling from a crisis—often lack the capacity and resources to find a new, safe place to live, even if they are willing to leave." - Uprooted: As the Climate Crisis Forces U.S. Residents to Relocate, a New Conversation Emerges
Solutions
Solutions
Prevention
Prevention
As discussed on other pages, sometimes the first and more efficient steps involve harm prevention. In this context that can include preventing people from tearing down existing biomes that protect us from climate change, flooding, sea level rise, heat waves, and wild fires.
Create and Enforce Legislation Banning New Developments in Flood Zones
Create and Enforce Legislation Banning New Developments in Flood Zones
In areas without this type of legislation, many people have been sold home in known flood zones, within 100 year flood zones, and other unsuitable places. These homes are prone to repeated flooding which can push families into a poverty situation where they are unable to sell their homes (because they flood repeatedly) which leaves them without the funds to leave or keep rebuilding. Governments need to offer buy-out programs and work with conservation organizations to clear the badly-placed buildings. The land can function as both wild space and as permeable land to help absorb future flood waters, protecting nearby communities.
Managed Retreat
Managed Retreat
"... the purposeful movement of people, buildings and other assets from areas vulnerable to hazards—has often been considered a last resort. But Siders said it can be a powerful tool for expanding the range of possible solutions to cope with rising sea levels, flooding and other climate change effects when used proactively or in combination with other measures." - Managed Retreat: A Must in the War Against Climate Change
Man-Made Defenses
Man-Made Defenses
Sustainable Drainage Systems or (SUDs) help slow and safely divert water away from homes and businesses, preferably into wetlands, underground storage, or other places where it can do good instead of harm.
Dams or seawalls may also be useful depending on the nature of the flooding, though solutions such as living shorelines provide better, long-term solutions compared to hard engineering.
Preserve Wetlands, Waterways, and Mangroves
Preserve Wetlands, Waterways, and Mangroves
Mangroves not only help prevent soil erosion, but help protect communities against hurricanes and other extreme weather. They have unique biodiversity, and serve many functions but are under threat from climate change, and human activities. Wetlands provide vital flood prevention with large spaces for overflow and absorption to take place. The vegetation both helps water sink into the soil and respirate back into the atmosphere. These wild areas also play a massive roll in preserving biodiversity for migrant and native species of fish, birds, and other wildlife. These in turn provide economic opportunities to the communities that preserve those ecosystems, while absorbing pollution so that it can do less harm.
Mangroves
Tree Planting
Tree Planting
Establishing and protecting riparian borders can be a very powerful tool to protect water quality, mitigate flooding, control erosion, increase biodiversity, create wildlife corridors, protect ground water, and even improve water respiration to provide vital rain for crops.
Buy Out Programs
Buy Out Programs
Buyouts help protect our most vulnerable citizens who, especially after many floods and damaging storms may not have the funds to keep rebuilding, nor to move away from dangerous, flood-prone areas. From a fiscal standpoint buyout programs reduce flood risk which reduces government liability and increased poverty which in turn increases strain on public funding.
Floating Buildings
Floating Buildings
Methods
Methods
Ensure legislation has consequences when pollution or other terms are not met. Legislation should bar new construction projects other than ones designed to manage water and protect us from climate change.
Install low-head dam for saltwater wedge and freshwater pool separation "Rising sea levels, combined with reductions in freshwater runoff due to drought, will cause the salt water-freshwater boundary to move further upstream in tidal estuaries. Upstream shifts of this boundary can reduce the water quality of surface water resources. Installation of low-head dams across tidal estuaries can prevent this upstream movement." -
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS)
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS)
SUDs passively reduce flooding down stream by slowing the flow of water, letting it spread out in safe places so that it can better infiltrate the soil. This has many benefits from reducing erosion and siltation, to recharging ground water and making the landscape more resilient against droughts, fires and heatwaves.
Recharging ground water also means salt water intrusion can be reduced along coastal areas, while guaranteeing safe ground water for future generations.
Click the SUDs button to learn more about these systems.
Beavers are a keystone species that naturally lives throughout the northern hemisphere in North America, Europe and northern Asia from Russia down to at least Mongolia. These natural engineers were perhaps the first major designers of SUDs, and can provide many of the same benefits without requiring paychecks. Click the Beaver button to learn more about how to help these animals return to the places that need them, or to find out which organizations near you might help remove and rehome some that are causing unwanted flooding.
Green Space Expansion
Green Space Expansion
Green space is our greatest natural defense against flooding. These green spaces can be renovated to de-compact the soil and build flood mitigation infrastructure including reservoirs and swales. Ecologically these areas increase biodiversity, and can help expand our range of wildlife corridors which will further protect wildlife against the threats of extinction caused by fractured habitats. Keystone species, particularly beavers should be allowed to colonize these areas, providing flood protection in areas where human/animal interactions can be minimized.
Examples of Green Spaces
Examples of Green Spaces
Green spaces can perform a number of services, and incorporating green spaces in flood prevention plans can even boost their success and biodiversity.
Greenbelts and greenways are strips of green areas connecting communities while tamping down excessive urban sprawl. These spaces reduce air pollution, provide connectivity for wildlife, and if properly designed can provide connectivity to humans instead of forcing everyone to drive in private vehicles. Greenbelts can absorb flood water, but this may result in people having to take alternative routes such as roads until the waters recede.
Wetlands are vital for many migratory and stationary species. Seasonal rains can turn deserts, grasslands, and other biomes into vibrant space for pollinators as well as other species who feed on them. Flooding may negatively impact tourism, but should be less likely to destroy homes unless indigenous communities or park rangers live in the area.
Places to Avoid Building
Places to Avoid Building
Wetlands
Wetlands
Wetlands are natures sponges, and have been under threat from farmers and urban developers draining these natural resources. By restoring wetlands we both buffer land and communities from storms and floods, but we'll also restore biodiversity for millions of species who rely on wetlands to reproduce, eat, and find refuge year round or on their migration routes.
Wetlands
Create and Enforce Legislation Banning New Developments in Flood Zones
Create and Enforce Legislation Banning New Developments in Flood Zones
In areas without this type of legislation, many people have been sold home in known flood zones, within 100 year flood zones, and other unsuitable places. These homes are prone to repeated flooding which can push families into a poverty situation where they are unable to sell their homes (because they flood repeatedly) which leaves them without the funds to leave or keep rebuilding. Governments need to offer buy-out programs and work with conservation organizations to clear the badly-placed buildings. The land can function as both wild space and as permeable land to help absorb future flood waters, protecting nearby communities.
Zoning and Ordinances that prevents building inside flood plains, and emphasis turning these spaces into forests or parks can help turn communities into "sponge cities" which can better withstand severe weather far into the future.
Resources
Resources
Lead with Listening: A Guidebook for Community Conversations on Climate Migration
Managed Relocation Risk Assessment Spreadsheet "This spreadsheet tool is a companion to the "Ecological Risk Assessment of Managed Relocation as a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy" Natural Resource Report found at https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2284919. A screen reader compatible version of this spreadsheet is available at https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2280036."
Buyout Programs
Buyout Programs
Innovations in Buyouts Workshops "Practitioners, community members, researchers, and advocates have long observed challenges with federally-financed home buyout programs. At the same time, demand for buyouts is growing in many areas. Current programs and funding sources are not meeting communities’ and individuals’ needs for relocation support.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), CH Consulting, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the Climigration Network convened two workshop series—one with buyout practitioners and program managers, and one with buyout participants and community leaders—to discuss shared challenges and identify practical recommendations for making buyouts faster, easier, and fairer."
Maps & Tools
Maps & Tools
Maps by Region Check specific State and Country pages to see if there are more specific maps, tools, projects, and groups for specific areas. If you have suggestions, we would love to hear what else we can include. Some states and countries have more detailed watershed, county, and city level maps. Other topic sections such as plastic, agriculture may be worth checking to understand how pollution enters our water ways, and how industries might endanger water sources without proper regulation, mitigation, or clean up systems to protect communities from these threats.
North America
North America
USA
USA
USA Flood Factor Interactive map can be used to find specific addresses, and see how historical flooding as affected existing roads and neighborhoods. Please scroll down in page to find the partial US map, or type in an address and scroll down to find the interactive map.
NOAA Flood Map Check specific State and Country pages to see if there are more specific maps, tools, projects, and groups in your area. If you have suggestions, we would love to hear what else we can include. Some states have watershed, county, and city level maps. Other sections such as plastic, agriculture may be worth checking to understand how pollution enters our water ways, and how industries might endanger water sources without proper regulation, mitigation, or clean up systems to protect communities from these threats.
Stormwater Management and Restoration Tracking (SMART) Tool (Interactive) Tool tracks storm water management practices in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed which spans, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia
USGS Ground Water Depletion in the United States 1900-2008 (PDF) understanding which area are suffering worst from ground water depletion can help us build better water management systems which could convert flood and rain waters back into aquifers. This would both ensure drinking and irrigations for future generations, as well as stabilizing soil which increasingly threatens building, road, and dam foundations in water-depleted regions.
Organizations
Organizations
International
International
Environmental Justice Foundation "calls on governments to recognise climate refugees and support a new legal agreement to guarantee their rights and their fair claim to our shared world. These populations currently have no support under existing legislation, such as the 1951 Geneva Convention to protect those fleeing war and persecution.
EJF calls for a UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change to examine the issues surrounding climate change and human mobility, help protect the most disadvantaged and vulnerable populations within and across countries, and guide international action on climate-induced displacement."
Asia
Asia
Cambodia
Cambodia
Europe
Europe
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
North America
North America
United States
United States
Climigration Network "Advancing community-led solutions to climate displacement through partnership, policy, and practice"
FEMA "Now more than ever, communities across the nation are making, or have already made, the tough decision to seek higher ground and relocate away from harm’s way. As climate change continues to displace people, FEMA alongside federal partners, strives to assist these communities every step of the way during the implementation of a climate adaptation strategy known as community-driven relocation.
This work aligns with the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan which outlines a bold vision and three ambitious goals designed to address key challenges, which includes leading the whole-of-community in climate resilience. This work also supports the 2022-2026 FEMA National Tribal Strategy, which is dedicated to addressing FEMA’s trust and treaty responsibilities to tribal nations when responding to and preparing for disasters in Indian Country."
Grants & Funding
Grants & Funding
Asia
Asia
Livable Cities: Financing Partnership Facility "The urban operations of ADB benefits from the support of notable trust funds, which are collectively referred to as the Urban Financing Partnership Facility. Under this umbrella, strategic, long-term, multi-partner investments on innovative urban solutions are implemented. These investments help to achieve the vision of livable cities." These include:
Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) eligible countries include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
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