Here's what might be keeping your NC community from preparing for climate change
A gap in the historic molding next to the door, for instance, sits exactly four feet off the ground, indicating where owners
"We're back open and doing like we should, but still that's a lot to recover and a lot to recoup," Pinsky said. The store is still trying to replace about
Much of
While cities like
Some coastal cities such as
When Whitehead asked leaders what presented the biggest barrier to protecting against flooding, the answer she invariably heard, she said, was, "Funding, funding, funding. And the challenge is that there's not a dedicated source for funding, especially for climate resilience, so there's grant proposals that come up and are available, but you have to have the capacity to apply for a grant."
Flooding reality in Eastern NC
That reality is one facing
Now that plan describes a downtown area where flood-damaged buildings will likely be rebuilt significantly higher, an effort to stand above potential flooding and storm surge levels. It also says flood risk should be considered in future infrastructure decisions and that existing infrastructure should be evaluated for the danger of its location, with leaders potentially considering retracting services in some flood-prone areas.
When Florence arrived,
Others in
"There's some very expensive projects involved," Seaberg said. "We're always looking for potential grants to offset these costs, but when you're operating on a
About a half-hour north of
"I just don't know what we can do short of building a 20-foot wall along the river bank," Bender said. "People are coming up with some ideas, but I don't know that anything has come to fruition.
Bender continued, "I think we're just going forward and hoping that it doesn't happen again. While we feel that it probably will, hopefully it won't be as bad."
With an annual budget of about
"My life is like running around trying to keep 15 plates spinning on top of poles," he said. "I don't have anybody to do those kinds of things, and even if you come up with two good ideas to help do it, where is the money going to come from?"
State officials are trying to make it easier for smaller governments to protect their residents from flooding. A law overhauling local land-use and planning ordinances passed in July represents one such opportunity.
Under that law, comprehensive plans will be a necessity in every one of the state's municipalities. Previously, the plans were only required in the state's 20 coastal counties, according to the
"A comprehensive plan isn't necessarily going to be a nice-to-have, it's going to be a have-to-have," Whitehead said. The new law explicitly states comprehensive plans can include strategies to mitigate flooding and other hazards.
To help municipal officials, a team of local planning experts and resilience officials are writing a handbook that will provide template ordinances and suggested provisions that could be part of comprehensive or land-use plans.
"The state can play a role, and NCORR is working to play a role, in giving local governments a more robust array of tools and options and information from which they can make better informed decisions without usurping their rights to actually make those decisions," Houston said.
Whitehead and NCORR have also tried to give local governments access to mitigation planning expertise. To that end, the department is wrapping up what Whitehead calls a "resilience quick start guide" for local communities, a document of fewer than 10 pages that helps local governments consider how to build resilience into routine decisions such as infrastructure upgrades or zoning rulings.
A disaster recovery bill introduced after Hurricane Dorian included an effort that has not come to pass, with
Whitehead said she would likely advocate for similar positions in the future, adding, "We need additional planning capacity for these local communities. A lot of places go, 'Oh, plans that never get enacted.' Well, if we actually look at the decision-making authorities that we have and how decisions are made, then we can make implementable plans."
Florence in
For
Davis said, "It caused us to think, 'OK, yes, we need to be proactive.' But it's not a 'the sky is falling' activity, it's more of a, 'yes, this is part of our land-use plan.' The land-use plan helps create the direction for future ordinances and how we do things."
It is unlikely, Davis added, that business owners and residents will retreat from
"It could be years before people really start to believe the data," Davis said. "If they believe the data and the data is tangible, then people will start to take action. But we are all slow to take new data to heart quickly. You're talking years of development of mental attitude change, of culture change."
Some business owners are being forced to take action, though, such as
Then Hurricane Florence came, pushing two feet of flood water into the entire facility and effectively washing away The Icehouse's frame structure. On a recent day, a blue tarp flapped in the breeze. Before Florence, a wall had stood where that tarp flapped, attached to a building whose general shape could still be seen on a deck.
Swanson moved quickly to repair the flooded Boro, which is housed in a sturdy block structure that once held the original ice house. Repairs included building a kitchen inside that structure, as the Icehouse's kitchen previously served both restaurants. Swanson also put closed foam insulation throughout The Boro so he won't need to worry about mold growing on it after future floods.
Other than that, Swanson is working toward rebuilding The Icehouse, which made up about 70% of the facility's revenue.
"We're kind of in limbo, living on equity lines and credit cards," Swanson said.
When the rebuild comes, the new Icehouse will stand 15 feet above the high water level, three feet higher than required by code.
"If we're going to bring it (to) 12 feet above high water," Swanson said, "we might as well put a little buffer in there."
According to the latest bids Swanson has received, the project will cost more than
"There's virtually no money left over to rebuild the new Icehouse," Swanson said.
Swanson is quick to credit
But, Swanson notes, business owners in flood-prone places like downtown
"I can't see somebody going through a flood," Swanson said, "and not repairing in a way that the damage is minimized not if, but when the next flood comes through."
Note: This story was produced in collaboration with
This reporting is financially supported by Report for
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