Vulnerability assessment of waterfront residential properties to climate change

Abstract

This paper is part of an ongoing research project designed to develop a dynamic model for assessing current and future vulnerability of waterfront residential properties to sea-level rise (SLR). SLR is one of the best recognized effects of projected climate change in recent literature. Increased storm surge height due to SLR can cause significant problems for low-lying coastal areas. Millions of people who live near the sea may be forced to displace due to coastal flooding. As sea level continues to increase due to global warming, decision makers will need to have better tools to understand the extent and timing of coastal hazards. Considering the complexity and dynamic nature of coastal systems with many feedbacks and dependencies changing over time, the research will focus on modelling temporal and spatial variations of coastal flooding in assessing vulnerability of the systems to SLR and storm surges.