FLASHBACK: Senator Hwang Hosts Coastal Resilience Forum

On Wednesday, May 22nd, Senator Tony Hwang led an expert panel on coastal resilience and hurricane preparedness, consisting of Becky Bunnell, Fairfield Flood & Erosion Control Board; James O’Donnell, UCONN CIRCA; Robert LaFrance, Audubon Connecticut; Gail Robinson, Ash Creek Conservation Association; Cindy O’Neill Vitale, Fairfield CERT; and students Sreya Mothukuri and Scout Oranzo-Root from Sustainable Youth Fairfield.

The panel focused on potential threats to coastline communities in light of recent projections warning of an increase in dangerous tropical storms during the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Concerns were raised by residents, businesses, and community leaders on potential damage to personal property and the environment in beach communities and neighborhoods. Meteorologists project 23 named storms, 11 hurricanes, and 3 hurricanes of Category 3 or higher, with a 1 in 3 chance of a hurricane making landfall on Connecticut’s shores this year.

“As we witness the ever-increasing threats posed by hurricanes to our coastline communities, it becomes imperative that we take proactive measures to safeguard our shores and protect our citizens. Through nature-based solutions, strategic planning, and community engagement, we can mitigate the devastating impacts of these natural disasters. We must not wait for calamity to strike to act on this matter. This situation calls for decisive action to fortify our coastal defenses and ensure the safety and security of our coastal residents for generations to come. By having discussions like this, we are taking steps as a community to protect against the devastating impacts of severe storms,” Senator Hwang Remarked.

“The town of Fairfield has arguably the highest value of real estate at risk of any town in Connecticut. Over 3000 structures in the flood plain, consisting of key historical structures, key infrastructure, churches, schools, and 15% of our town’s homes are at risk,” Becky Bunnell warned.

Bunnell noted that Connecticut is expected to experience up to 20 inches of sea level rise by 2050. By 2080, that number skyrockets to between 2 ft and 4.5 ft.
“You used to get a “Sandy” level hurricane once every 500 years in Connecticut. Now with the rise of the sea level and the warming of the oceans, we might see that type of storm as often as every 5 years by 2030,” Bunnell added.

Bunnell is advocating for a 2024 Fairfield Flood, Erosion, and Resilience plan that will help the community understand the full scope of risks faced by Fairfield, and what options are available to increase resilience to these threats. Those options include raising roads, putting a few berms in place, or adding protection to a FEMA-recommended level which can be more costly.

Community members are working together to help find these solutions. Even high school students concerned about the impact flooding can have on their futures are making their voices heard. “A solution we could possibly implement in Fairfield is implementing bioswales, which are linear, vegetated ditches which allow for the collection, conveyance, filtration, and infiltration of stormwater,” Said Fairfield Warde Students Sreya Mothukuri and Scout Oranzo-Root. “These bioswales can greatly reduce flooding.”

The discussion then turned over to what individual residents can do to be better prepared for severe environmental events. Fairfield Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) presented tips for residents to contribute to community resiliency, and to prepare themselves for environmental disasters.

Fairfield CERT’s Cindy O’Neill Vitale, accompanied by Fairfield Fire Department Chief Denis McCarthy stated, “It’s not about just packing your toolbox or having a go bag. How resilient are you as an individual? What are you going to do to make sure you get through these situations?” Vitale noted that residents should plan to be on their own for at least 14 days during a severe event, and should have enough supplies to last through that time-period. She recommended that families create an evacuation plan, and understand what needs they may need to fulfill if the community is shut down by a storm for an extended period of time and residents have to hunker down.

“The most important thing for a community to do is engage in these planning processes where important decisions can be made. Some properties are easier and cheaper to protect than others, some roads are easier and cheaper to raise. Both decisions are going to have costs, and are very site-specific, but the meetings need to happen to determine which actions will be the most effective.” Jim O’Donnell advised.

“Once you understand your ecosystem, you will know what the impacts might be, and what plan must be in place. The best place to start is to have these discussions in your communities about what is needed to increase coastal resilience and bring these recommendations as a group to the entity that can help facilitate the change,” Robert LaFrance added.

“For your own house, there are landscape designers who can build rain gardens, bioswales and create an environment in your property that will help absorb floodwaters.” Gail Robinson proposed.

“Climate change is real, it is not an issue of if, but when. We want to remove that sense of helplessness to give you the resilience and preparation you need. We are conducting the preparation and planning to make the necessary investments to protect our communities.” Senator Hwang concluded.