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What would you do if your waterfront property was likely to be under water in the near future?
Louisiana is fully aware that a large portion of their southern most residents will need to move inland thanks to rising sea levels, increased frequency of natural disasters and stronger storms. but don’t worry, they have a plan!
Earlier this year the state issued a blueprint to help prepare inland communities for the future influx of people moving away from coastal areas.
This impressive proposal is the first of its kind in the U.S. and while it initially seems like a very lofty goal, when its broken down into the basic components, it makes a lot of sense.
In the proposal, southeast Louisiana is broken down into risk zones- high, moderate, and low- before discussing ways to assist residents who will be moving out of high risk areas, into “receiving communities” located further inland.
The plan discusses ways to help support the growing inland communities as well as ways to strengthen existing coastal towns with stronger buildings codes and storm water management systems. It suggests that certain public services such as schools, grocery and medical be built on floating platforms. Part of the plan even includes diverting parts of the mighty Mississippi River.
In conclusion, yes, this is an expensive ($50 billion) and ambitious plan to be sure, but what is to say that it won’t be successful. No matter where you are, change is inevitable and in order to be successful we must be able to adapt.
If you would like to read more about the plan, Click here.