Experts Consider the Future and Security of our Coastal Regions

Experts Consider the Future and Security of our Coastal Regions

As North Carolina deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence and the impacts of storm-related flooding, several state and national organizations are considering the long-term outlook for the coastal region through the lens of military readiness.

On September 24, 2018, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, the Center for Climate and Security, North Carolina Sea Grant, and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership hosted a film screening and panel discussion on current and future impacts of sea level rise on North Carolina’s military installations and coastal communities at the Hunt Library on the NCSU campus.  These organizations are creating strategies to prepare both the military and coastal communities for future extreme weather events and flooding caused by sea level rise.

After screening the film, Tidewater, which details the challenges sea level rise presents to military readiness, a panel of military, academic, and government experts discussed current coastal conditions in North Carolina, the risks posed by sea level rise, and opportunities to build resilience in at military bases and in coastal communities.

Panel Members:

• Moderator, Chief Deputy Secretary John Nicholson, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
• Dr. Susan Cohen, Coordinator, Defense Coastal Estuarine Research Program, Department of the Navy
• Dr. Reide Corbett, Dean, Integrated Coastal Programs, Director, Coastal Studies Institute, Professor, Department of Coastal Studies, East Carolina University
• Rear Admiral Ann C. Phillips, USN (Ret.), The Center for Climate and Security, Former Commander of Expeditionary Strike Group TWO and Director of Surface Warfare
• Dr. Gavin Smith, Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence and Research Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Rear Admiral David W. Titley, USN (Ret.), The Center for Climate and Security, Director of the Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk at Penn State University, former Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy
• Holly White, AICP, CFM, Principal Planner, Town of Nags Head