Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The 'New Normal' Of Flooding In Portsmouth, Virginia: Perspectives, Experiences, And Adaptive Responses Of Residents And Business Owners In Low To Moderate-Income Communities, Donta Council, Michelle Covi, Wie Yusuf, Joshua Behr, Makayla Brown, Old Dominion University Resilience Collaborative, Virginia Sea Grant

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

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This project is a part of a broader initiative - the Resilience Adaptation Feasibility Tool (RAFT) - that addresses the daunting challenges coastal communities are facing related to sea level rise and climate change (more information about RAFT is available here: https://ien.virginia.edu/raft).

This aim of this project was to investigate how residents and business owners in low-to-moderate income communities in Portsmouth, Virginia cope with flooding, and to assess implications for how the local government can better engage with residents to better meet their information needs so they can be more resilient to flooding. The …

Flood Resilience Community Outreach Using The Asert Framework, Michelle Covi, Wie Yusuf, Carol Considine, Gail Nicula, Afi Anuar, Makayla Brown

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

Report on a program for public engagement meetings using the ASERT (Action-oriented Stakeholder Engagement for a Resilient Tomorrow) framework to solicit resident input into the City of Virginia Beach’s Comprehensive Sea Level Rise and Recurrent Flooding Analysis and Planning Study. A series of community meetings from December 2017-January 2018 took the form of a “Flood Resilience Game Night” with five stations in which residents could participate in activities to earn stamps on a game card.

Approaches To Communicating Flooding Information In Hampton Roads: Results From Surveys Of Local Government Staff, Ashley M. Gordon, Michelle Covi

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

The objectives of this report are to identify current communication strategies regarding coastal flooding and present opportunities for improvement and collaboration within the Hampton Roads region. The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission partnered with Old Dominion University to design two surveys of local government staff, the first regarding flooding outreach and the second regarding flooding notification methods. This report summarizes the results of each survey and synthesizes challenges described by respondents. Opportunities and resources, including local initiatives and guides developed by federal agencies and emergency notification providers, are highlighted to assist local government staff in addressing challenges related to flooding …

Well-Being And Mental Health Impact Of Household Flooding In Guyana, The Caribbean, Muge Akpinar-Elci, Shanomae Rose, Michele Kekeh

Center for Global Health Publications

Guyana has annually experienced excessive rainfall and flooding since 2005. This study investigated the general well-being and mental health problems among occupants of households affected by the December 2008 flooding in Guyana. A cross-sectional study design was used to administer validated questionnaires, which included sections on demographics, environmental exposure, general health, and personal behavior. The response rate to the survey was 70% (130/185). The findings indicate an increased self-reported poor health for study participants who smelled moldy odors inside of their home (OR: 4.1, 95% CI: 2.0‐12.0) and for individuals who had mold or mildew inside of their homes (OR: …

An Intergovernmental Blueprint For Community Resiliency: The Hampton Roads Sea Level Rise Preparedness And Resilience Intergovernmental Pilot Project, Ray Toll

ODU Articles

This special Marine Technology Society (MTS) Journal issue on resilience features authors presenting various perspectives on the challenges and solutions that we all must face. Many of these perspectives are a follow-up to the recommendations from a 2014–2016 pilot run by Old Dominion University (ODU) that used a whole-of-government/community approach to an integrated regional solution in Hampton Roads. An intergovernmental blueprint for community resiliency, The Hampton Roads Sea Level Rise Preparedness and Resilience Intergovernmental Pilot Project (convened by ODU and launched in June 2014 with MTS), was one of the three White House National Security Council pilots and one of …

The Increased Risk Of Flooding In Hampton Roads: On The Roles Of Sea Level Rise, Storm Surges, Hurricanes, And The Gulf Stream, Tal Ezer

CCPO Publications

The impact of sea level rise on increased tidal flooding and storm surges in the Hampton Roads region is demonstrated, using ~90 years of water level measurements in Norfolk, Virginia. Impacts from offshore storms and variations in the Gulf Stream (GS) are discussed as well, in view of recent studies that show that weakening in the flow of the GS (daily, interannually, or decadal) is often related to elevated water levels along the U.S. East Coast. Two types of impacts from hurricanes on flooding in Hampton Roads are demonstrated here. One type is when a hurricane like Isabel (2003) makes …

Modeling The Impacts Of Sea Level Rise On Storm Surge Inundation In Flood-Prone Urban Areas Of Hampton Roads, Virginia, Luca Castrucci, Navid Tahvildari

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Hampton Roads is a populated area in the United States Mid-Atlantic region that is highly affected by sea level rise (SLR). The transportation infrastructure in the region is increasingly disrupted by storm surge and even minor flooding events. The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of SLR impacts on storm surge flooding in the region. We develop a hydrodynamic model to study the vulnerability of several critical flood-prone neighborhoods to storm surge flooding under several SLR projections. The hydrodynamic model is validated for tide prediction, and its performance in storm surge simulation is validated with the water …