Evaluation of Erosion Hazards

In response to the requirement of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act (NFIRA) of 1994, The Heinz Center carried out a study to clarify the effects of erosion and erosion mapping on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), on NFIP policyholders, and on coastal communities prone to erosion.

Evaluation of Erosion Hazards, the report of the study’s findings, was released by the Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in April 2000. One of the most sobering of those findings is that within the next 60 years some 25 percent of homes located within 500 feet of the coast will fall victim to the effects of erosion. The report was the subject of unprecedented media attention, with prominent coverage by some 65 newspapers, including USA Today, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, by all the national television networks, and by more than 110 local stations. Center staff members followed up the release of the report with congressional staff briefings, conference presentations, and journal articles. The Center is working with FEMA and other federal, state, and local agencies to integrate study findings into evolving models for coastal zone management.

For the Evaluation of Erosion Hazards Report please visit our publications page. 

See also a recent discussion paper, Coastal Hazards and Economic Externality: Implications for Beach Management Policies In the American Southeast.

For more information contact Sheila David, Senior Fellow and Project Director.