Thanks to its signature coastline of beaches and jagged inlets, the state of Rhode Island is especially vulnerable to environmental disturbances - a sensitivity that will likely become magnified in the coming decades as our global climate continues to change.
In an effort to help coastal municipalities cope with the impacts of both natural hazards and sea level rise, the Rhode Island Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP) Team has released a suite of tools for emergency preparedness and municipal planning purposes. The memo includes resources for forecasting storm surges and flooding, preserving fragile salt marsh ecosystems, and planning for shoreline change.