The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), along with the University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Center and RI Sea Grant, unveiled its latest Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP) tool: the Coastal Environmental Risk Index, or CERI.
The index, created for the Beach SAMP by its research team, is the first ever in Rhode Island that will provide an objective, quantitative assessment of risk to both structures and infrastructure from storm surge and waves in the presence of changing climate conditions, in particular, sea level rise.
Rhode Island planners and managers will have another tool in their arsenal – in addition to the recently-introduced mapping tool, STORMTOOLS – to utilize in making decisions based on storm events to anticipate risk to infrastructure, property, and emergency services along the coast. CERI uses the STORMTOOLS surge and wave maps, and the Beach SAMP shoreline change maps as a foundation, as well as data from the US Army Corps of Engineers, North Atlantic Comprehensive Coastal Study (using recent data from Superstorm Sandy).
The index – an online GIS-based tool – assesses the risk to structures and infrastructure in the event of storm surges, including flooding and waves, taking into account sea level rise and shoreline erosion and/or accretion. It calculates percent damage for structures and infrastructure associated with storm flooding, as well as inundation, waves and erosion, and combines all of these factors for a total assessment.