[Coral-List] coral reefs and coastal hazards in Florida and Puerto Rico: effects of hurricanes, forecasted degradation, and potential restoration

[Steve Mussman]

Dear Curt,

Interesting reports and I’m sure all agree that it’s important to remind everyone of the vital role that coral reefs play in providing coastal protection. Having said that, your post does raise a few questions.

Pointing out that there is a societal price to pay for prolonged coral reef losses can be an effective way of emphasizing their value, but I am wondering how much risk is involved in advocating for public investments in coral reef restoration designed for coastal protection. It seems to me that at least one of the projections put forward is based on a questionable assumption. The report claims that potential protections gained in Florida and Puerto Rico from coral reef restoration could result in avoiding huge financial losses, but that assumes that outplanted corals will survive and prosper long-term under current and perhaps ever-worsening environmental conditions. So far it seems that survivorship (at least in Florida) is less than stellar and that while hopefully this will improve over time, there are certainly no guarantees. So, I’m wondering why another “nature-based solution” is not being advanced at the same time. That being the imperative need to come to terms with water quality issues and climate change so that natural as well as human-assisted and genetically modified corals have a better chance of surviving and therefore providing the much-needed flood protection as well as the other important functions they support.

In addition, I’m wondering that if storm surge protection is at the forefront, aren’t there some other proven inorganic solutions available that won’t necessarily have to rely on the survivorship of corals in order to provide these same vital services?

Just wondering and hoping that others will chime in with more informed reactions to the reports you referenced in your post.

Finally, on a totally unrelated note, I wanted to mention the fact that get-well wishes are in order for Doug Fenner who was recently hospitalized and is currently recuperating from a badly broken femur. I know he has a keen interest in all these matters and won’t let a fractured leg divert his attention for this list for very long.

Sincere regards,

Steve Mussman

On 9/8/21, 11:23 AM, Storlazzi, Curt D via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

Dear colleagues,

Today, the USGS, UCSC, and NOAA released three reports that (i) quantify how the damage to reefs from the climate-fueled hurricanes of 2017 increase flood risk; (ii) assess how ongoing reef degradation amplifies long term flood risk and (iii) identify where restoration can have the greatest value in benefits. These reports show that damage to coral reefs (i.e., natural infrastructure) in 2017 has increased flood risk in Florida and Puerto Rico by more than $180 million annually. This is in addition to the long-term decline of Floridaís reefs which could increase the size of the 100-year floodplain by 16%. But there is some good news in the third report. Coral reef restoration in Florida and Puerto Rico could prevent over $270 million in annual flood damages.

See: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/pcmsc/science/quantifying-flood-risk-and-reef-risk-reduction-benefits-florida-and-puerto

OVERVIEW:

Coastal flooding and erosion from extreme weather events affect thousands of vulnerable coastal communities; the impacts of coastal flooding are predicted to worsen during this century because of population growth and climate change.

Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 caused widespread damage to coral reefs and to coastal communities across Florida and Puerto Rico. The aim of this work is to quantify how and where the damage and degradation of reefs could increase flood risk and to identify if and how reef restoration could reduce these risks.

There is growing recognition of the role of nature-based solutions, such as coral reef restoration, to reduce coastal risks. One of the biggest limitation to advancing the use of natural defenses in coastal management, however, is the lack of quantitative assessments of their engineering performance and the social and economic benefits.

To address this limitation, the USGS, UCSC, and NOAA investigated the role of U.S. coral reefs in coastal hazard risk reduction. Risk-based valuation approaches were applied to map flood zones at 10-m2 resolution along all 980+ km of Floridaís and Puerto Ricoís reef-lined shorelines for different storm probabilities. The coastal flood risk reduction benefits provided by coral reef damage, potential restoration, or projected degradation were quantified using the information from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

KEY FINDINGS:

The protection lost in Florida and Puerto Rico from storm damage to coral reefs during the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria could result in:

* Increased flooding affecting >4,300 people annually

* Increased direct damages of >$57.2 million to >1,800 buildings annually

* Increased indirect damages to >$124.3 million in economic activity due to housing and business damage annually

The protection lost in Florida due to projected future coral reef degradation could result in:

* Increased flooding affecting >7,300 people annually

* Increased direct damages of >$385.4 million to >1,400 buildings annually

* Increased indirect damages to >$438.1 million in economic activity due to housing and business damage annually

The protection gained in Florida and Puerto Rico from potential coral reef restoration could result in:

* Avoided flooding affecting >3,100 people annually

* Avoided direct damages of >$124.2 million to >890 buildings annually

* Avoided indirect damages to >$148.7 million in economic activity due to housing and business damage annually

These results can help prioritize actions and investments by

* Flood risk managers aiming to understand and mitigate current and future flood risks;

* Hazard management agencies, municipalities, and organizations aiming to reduce coastal risks by investing in the restoration of natural infrastructure and natural and nature-based features;

* Conservation and restoration investments by agencies and NGOs aiming to improve coastal resilience;

* Public and private insurers aiming to incentive and invest in nature-based solutions for adaptation and risk reduction.

REPORTS:

Storlazzi, C.D., Reguero, B.G., Viehman, T.S., Cumming, K.A., Cole, A.D., Shope, J.A., Groves, S.H., Gaido L., C., Nickel, B.A., and Beck, M.W. (2021) ìRigorously valuing the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on coastal hazard risks in Florida and Puerto Ricoî U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021ñ1056, 29 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211056

Storlazzi, C.D., Reguero, B.G., Yates, K.K., Cumming, K.A., Cole, A.D., Shope, J.A., Gaido L., C., Zawada, D.G., Arsenault, S.R., Fehr, Z.W., Nickel, B.A., and Beck, M.W. (2021) ìRigorously valuing the impact of projected coral reef degradation on coastal hazard risk in Floridaî U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021ñ1055, 27 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211055

Storlazzi, C.D., Reguero, B.G., Cumming, K.A., Cole, A.D., Shope, J.A., Gaido L., C., Viehman, T.S., Nickel, B.A., and Beck, M.W. (2021) ìRigorously valuing the coastal hazard risks reduction provided by potential coral reef restoration in Florida and Puerto Ricoî U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021ñ1054, 35 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211054

Mike, Borja, Shay, and Curt

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Curt D. Storlazzi, Ph.D.

U.S. Geological Survey

Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

2885 Mission Street

Santa Cruz, CA 95060

(831) 295-3429 cell during COVID-19

https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/curt-d-storlazzi

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