Flood-Resistant Building Design and Local Climate Change Resilience Initiatives

Flooding is one of the nation’s most costly natural hazards, but – despite the risks – owners and developers regularly construct new buildings and rehabilitate existing buildings in flood-prone areas. Most jurisdictions adopt building design criteria based only on historic data and present-day flood hazards, but some communities have recently begun to implement local regulations that require project teams to consider the effects of climate change on natural hazards, including future flood conditions. While even traditional flood mitigation considerations can present design challenges, these new resilience initiatives may require complex solutions that can often be disruptive to a prospective project if they are not identified and integrated during the early stages of a project.