Modelling Risk Reduction Measures to Minimise Future Impacts of Storms at Coastal Areas

Abstract

Coastal storms often cause damages and losses in occupied areas. Under climate change conditions (i.e. sea-level rise and increased frequency of extreme sea levels) and increasing human occupation, the consequences of coastal storms will be amplified if no adaptation actions are implemented. The selection of the best possible coastal management measures to reduce risks at coastal areas, considering costs, effectiveness and acceptance, will be mandatory in the future. This work presents a generic approach to model disaster risk reduction measures at coastal areas, including climate change effects. The proposed methodology is adaptable to any coastal region and can be used to test (and improve) management options at a broad number of coastal areas. It can also be used to define a timeframe for the implementation of the defined measures since not all risk reduction measures, under a climate change scenario, need to be implemented at the same time. This would help to optimise implementation costs while reducing the risk to the occupation and people.