Charleston remains exposed, vulnerable to floods and earthquakes | News

On the same day that Charleston warned residents not to prepare for coastal floods and rising waters, the harsh facts about the city’s disaster vulnerability were dropped on government leaders.

A long-awaited 191-page assessment of stress points in the city’s housing, labor markets and medical district has been released, demonstrating that the area faces potentially catastrophic consequences if Mother Nature has given its worst.

“Charleston is one of the nation’s most historically coastal communities and is among the first to face the impacts of climate change and sea level rise,” an executive summary of the report said.

“It is also one of the few communities on the east coast located in an area with potential seismic activity,” she added.

The report took into account common problems in Charleston with floods and storm surges as well as catastrophic events such as earthquakes and hazardous material leaks.

The report identified nine hazards, including four different types of floods: flood plains inundation, storm surges, tidal floods, and sea level rise, along with earthquakes, releases of hazardous materials, extreme heat and water shortages.

The Suitable Peninsula will be the most affected financially, as 65 percent of all citywide jobs are located there.

The most vulnerable to loss or damage to homes – 30 percent – is in the inner West Ashley area.

The report stated that 86 percent of real estate across the city may be inaccessible during a major flood.

Here’s how to break down the categories in the report:

Floodplain Flooding: 71% of businesses, 70% of homes, and 59% of critical facilities are subject to inundation of flood plains or dry flood prone areas. More than half of all flood-prone properties were built before floodplain development requirements were enacted. Residential properties are also relatively more vulnerable to flooding based on FEMA plains compared to other residential properties in the city. Storm surges 84% ​​of businesses, 87% of homes, and 72% of critical facilities are vulnerable to storm shock or waters that rise after a major weather event, and the most vulnerable areas include the peninsula, within West Ashley, and northern James Island. “It is possible that lifelines and sensitive areas will be inaccessible during the current tidal events,” the report said. “Many residential areas are likely to be isolated during tidal events due to small or inaccessible residential roads.” Earthquakes: 46% of businesses, 39% of homes, and 88% of vital facilities are vulnerable to earthquakes, the areas most at risk: Peninsula, Inner and Outer West, Ashley and North James Island, about 36% of buildings constructed in the city have been built Before the first building code was established in 1968, including 530 historic properties built before the last earthquake in 1886. Since these buildings had already been hit by an earthquake, they are more at risk now. The report states that about 44 percent of the bridges in the city are highly vulnerable because they do not contain seismic design considerations.

The assessment was compiled by the Center for National Environmental Analysis and Modeling in Asheville, North Carolina + Fern Leaf. They collected data from publicly available sources from March 2019 to March 2020.

FernLeaf worked in Tallahassee, Florida, North Carolina and for the National Wildlife Refuge. The evaluation cost the city nearly $ 200,000.

Earlier this year, the city councilor provided an update on progress and said a final report would be released soon. Mark Wilbert, chief resilience officer, said it was not announced until Thursday, due to an extensive review process of the city and pending documentation approval from federal agencies.

The summary found positives. It promotes Charleston as one of the first cities in the state to establish an Office of Resilience and Emergency Management – made up of emergency managers, sustainability and resilience officers – and that Charleston is among the first cities in the southeast to have a flooding and sea level rise strategy.

“We knew that we needed a fuller and more detailed understanding of the challenges that our city would face in the future – and that’s exactly what this report presented to us,” Mayor John Tecklenburg said in an emailed statement. An invaluable planning tool for years to come, as we deal with challenging issues ranging from land use, to flood defenses, public safety, affordable housing and more. “

Wilbert told city leaders Thursday that the vulnerability assessment report is being used as a resource as the city updates its overall plan and also its response to a floodwall proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers around the city.

Reach out to Mikaela Porter at 843-937-5906. Follow her on Twitter @mikaelareporter.

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