Editorial: ODU Moves to Become Resilience Leader

RISING SEA LEVELS and the recurrent flooding they cause pose an existential threat to the future of life as we know it in Hampton Roads. Homes, businesses, military bases and public infrastructure are all at risk as the water steadily encroaches on our communities.

There are few areas in the United States more at risk from sea-level rise caused by global warming than Hampton Roads. Miami and New Orleans are often cited as the American cities most threatened by climate change, but this region is among the most populated areas where these forces are having a measurable, demonstrable effect.

But where there is crisis, there can be opportunity.

The region’s economic fortunes will surely be shaped by the flooding to come. Communities here will have to invest billions in resilience and adaptation solutions in order to keep neighborhoods both dry and livable. So too will the state and federal governments be asked to contribute.