{"id":221241,"date":"2025-09-02T15:30:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T01:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=221241"},"modified":"2025-09-02T18:30:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T04:30:23","slug":"building-coastal-flood-zones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/02\/building-coastal-flood-zones\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> researchers call for new standards for building in coastal flood zones"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"waikiki\"
Current shoreline conditions at a beachfront site in Waikīkī during a king tide. (Photo credit: Eric Teeples)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new study reveals a wide variety of approaches across the U.S. for establishing building elevation guidelines that account for future sea level rise, highlighting a need for more standardized methods. The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa research, published in Water<\/em><\/a>, provides a critical resource for policymakers and designers in coastal communities such as Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> who are planning for the impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n

“With coastal high tide flooding having doubled in the U.S. in the last two decades, it’s clear that we need to build for the future, not just for the past,” said lead author Wendy Meguro, an associate professor in the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa School of Architecture<\/a> and director of the Environmental Research and Design Lab. “Our main suggestion is for policymakers and designers to plan for sea-level rise amounts projected within a building\u2019s lifetime.”<\/p>\n

Serving Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/h2>\n

This research directly supports state and county efforts in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> to adapt coastal communities to the impacts of sea-level rise by informing future building policies. The collaborative project also aligns with UH<\/abbr> Mānoa\u2019s strategic goals of fostering faculty-mentored student research that responds to state needs.<\/p>\n

“This research is crucial for supporting community resilience in Â鶹´«Ã½,”<\/span> said Eric Teeples, who was a doctor of architecture graduate student while working on the project and is a co-author of the paper. “Sea level rise is a real threat to many coastal communities, and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is particularly vulnerable. By learning from others, we can develop informed, forward-thinking, and actionable approaches that fit our community.”<\/p>\n

The research team plans to share their findings and gather public feedback at a presentation in late 2025. This event will focus on different methods to determine minimum building elevation to adapt to sea-level rise and seek community preferences to help inform future guidelines and policies for Â鶹´«Ã½,<\/span> with a particular focus on Honolulu.<\/p>\n

Comparing national approaches<\/h2>\n

As climate change accelerates, rising sea levels will dramatically increase flood risk, yet methods to establish minimum building elevations for sea level rise are not standardized. Current Federal Emergency Management Agency standards are based on historical flood data and do not account for future sea level conditions. This leaves local governments to develop their own guidance.<\/p>\n

The study identified and compared seven initiatives—ranging from the federal level to municipalities like New York City and Boston—that have developed building elevation guidance incorporating future sea level rise. The authors analyzed key factors such as the starting point for water level measurements, the projected sea-level rise scenarios, and whether the guidelines are required or merely recommended.<\/p>\n

By analyzing these different approaches, the research underscores the potential for more consistent methods and informs decision-making for officials developing their own sea-level rise design flood elevations.<\/p>\n

The work was funded by the Office of Naval Research and a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the UH<\/abbr> Sea Grant College Program.<\/p>\n

Read more about the team\u2019s project at Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Sea Grant’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UH<\/abbr> researchers are highlighting the need for more standardized methods for creating building elevation guidelines that account for future sea-level rise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":221242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1363,158,239,92,635,73,9,438],"class_list":["post-221241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-publication","tag-school-of-architecture","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-sea-grant-college-program","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-manoa","tag-uh-sea-grant","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t