Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Assessing the vulnerability of coastal jurisdictions and Tribes to impacts exacerbated by sea level rise (SLR) is of growing importance, and is likely to be emphasized in new rules expected under Washington’s Shoreline Management Act. Vulnerability assessment couples hazard exposure information with the spatial distribution and relative value of community assets and their sensitivity to those hazards and provides better insights about areas that are most at risk due to SLR-driven hazards. A careful and comprehensive assessment of SLR-driven vulnerability, therefore, can lead to more-nuanced planning and decision-making and support more equitable distributions of resources and investment intended to reduce vulnerability.
The intent of this webinar is to introduce a project funded by the Habitat Strategic Initiative Lead that will improve upon a spatial analysis of SLR vulnerability initially developed between 2020-2023 that is intended to inform land use, ecological restoration, and hazard planning in Puget Sound. The assessment will re-calculate an SLR vulnerability index for every parcel within an SLR hazard zone, based both on the configuration of infrastructure and coastal habitats within the study area.
Assessing the vulnerability of coastal jurisdictions and Tribes to impacts exacerbated by sea level rise (SLR) is of growing importance, and is likely to be emphasized in new rules expected under Washington’s Shoreline Management Act. Vulnerability assessment couples hazard exposure information with the spatial distribution and relative value of community assets and their sensitivity to those hazards and provides better insights about areas that are most at risk due to SLR-driven hazards. A careful and comprehensive assessment of SLR-driven vulnerability, therefore, can lead to more-nuanced planning and decision-making and support more equitable distributions of resources and investment intended to reduce vulnerability.
The intent of this webinar is to introduce a project funded by the Habitat Strategic Initiative Lead that will improve upon a spatial analysis of SLR vulnerability initially developed between 2020-2023 that is intended to inform land use, ecological restoration, and hazard planning in Puget Sound. The assessment will re-calculate an SLR vulnerability index for every parcel within an SLR hazard zone, based both on the configuration of infrastructure and coastal habitats within the study area.
