1 1.10 Application of estuarine and coastal classifications in marine ...

1.10.8.3 USGS Coastal Hazards Maps
The rapidly growing population of coastal residents and their demand for reliable
information regarding the vulnerability of coastal regions to storm impacts have created a need
for classifying coastal lands and evaluating storm hazard vulnerability. Government officials and
resource managers responsible for dealing with natural hazards also need accurate assessments of
potential storm impacts in order to make informed decisions before, during, and after major
storm events. Mitigating damage to natural coastal resources and economic development depend
on integrating models of storm parameters, hazard vulnerability, and expected coastal responses.
Thus, storm hazard vulnerability assessments constitute one of the fundamental components of
forecasting storm impacts. The primary purpose of the USGS National Assessment of Coastal
Change Project is to provide accurate representations of pre-storm ground conditions for areas
that are designated high-priority because they have dense populations or valuable resources that
are at risk from storm waves. Another purpose of the project is to develop a geomorphic (land
feature) coastal classification that, with only minor modification, can be applied to most coastal
regions in the United States. A coastal classification map (Figure 23) describing local
geomorphic features is the first step toward determining the hazard vulnerability of an area. The
National Assessment of Coastal Change Project's Coastal Classification Maps present ground
conditions such as beach width, dune elevations, overwash potential, and density of
development. In order to complete a hazard vulnerability assessment, that information must be
integrated with other information, such as prior storm impacts and beach stability. The coastal
classification maps provide much of the basic information for such an assessment and represent a
critical component of a storm-impact forecasting capability.
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