Coastal Services Center

Another area of emphasis at the Center is to provide coastal communities with easily accessible hazards-related spatial data, tools, and services to improve their ability to lessen the impacts of coastal hazards. These products are designed to address the risk and vulnerability of all aspects of a community – human, built, environment, and economy.

| Coastal Storms/Tsunamis | Harmful Algal Blooms |

Coastal Storms/Tsunamis

	Coastal Population Tool A component of the Historical Hurricane Tracks Web site, this tool allows managers to view 100 years of population and historical hurricane data side by side for selected counties or parishes.
	Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool CD-ROM Before communities can develop effective hazard mitigation strategies, they must first identify their hazard risks and assess their vulnerability to the impacts of those hazards. This CD-ROM provides a methodology in the form of a tutorial for conducting a community-wide vulnerability assessment of physical, social, economic, and environmental factors.
	Rhode Island: Hazard Risk and Vulnerability Assessment The state of Rhode Island conducted a risk and vulnerability assessment to prepare for and minimize the impacts of natural hazards on 39 communities. This report includes detailed methodology, scores, results, resources, and implications of the results for planning and emergency management.
	Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Tool (RVAT) A risk and vulnerability assessment helps to identify people, property, and resources that are at risk of injury, damage, or loss from hazardous incidents or natural hazards. This Web site includes: risk and vulnerability assessment how-to, interactive mapping, and a storm surge visualization tool.
	Updating Road Data for Evacuation Planning In an emergency or an evacuation, time is of the essence. But with increased development and the constant changes in infrastructure: emergency responders do not always have accurate up-to-date information. The U.S. Department of Transportation is looking into using satellites to obtain data on infrastructure to help with emergency planning.
	Updating State Flood Insurance Rate Maps Hurricane Floyd brought devastating flooding to coastal and inland North Carolina. Many of the economic impacts of the hurricane were due to an outdated system that identified flood-prone areas for insurance purposes. This disaster illustrated the need for comprehensive flood planning in North Carolina and resulted in the large-scale flood-mapping initiative that is described in this Web page.
	Vulnerability Assessment Techniques and Applications Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (RVAs) are used to determine a communities vulnerability to hazards. This Web site provides a variety of resources related to RVAs including an overview of RVAs, links to related policies, publications and research centers, a glossary of related terms, and access to a topic-specific list-serv.

Harmful Algal Blooms

	Applications for Remote Sensing This site provides examples of how remote sensing technology provides a unique perspective for managers who need to balance social and environmental concerns within a region.
	Harmful Algal Bloom Forecasting System The Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Forecasting System provided by NOAA supplies information on the location, extent, and potential for development or movement of Karenia brevis blooms in the Gulf of Mexico.
	Monitoring Harmful Algae The economic impacts of harmful algal blooms on the tourism and seafood industries, not to mention their potential impact on human health, has prompted the need to more carefully monitor algal blooms. This Web page describes the use of remotely sensed near-real-time chlorophyll imagery to alert managers to the potential of harmful algae.