Pacific RISA is collaborating with the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships team for the Carolinas region (C3HE), to conduct community-engaged research to support flood resilience in Hawaiʻi and North Carolina. The work centers on developing local flood risk models and engaging with community members to prioritize adaptation solutions in four coastal communities; the North Shore and northern Koʻolaupoko to southern Koʻolauloa on Oʻahu and; Down East Carteret County and Carolina Beach in North Carolina.
Map of partner communities. Credit: Chris Shuler.
The CAP teams are partnering with community organizations in each region—Kualoa Heʻeia Ecumenical Youth (KEY) Project in Hawaiʻi and the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center in North Carolina—to lead engagement. The project aims to build collective capacity to advance community resilience goals and identify infrastructure investments that reduce risk, support wellbeing, and align with community values. As a cross-CAP project, the teams will exchange knowledge and work collaboratively to test innovative research and engagement methods across the two regions.
Core project components are:
Develop models and characterize flood risk. The team will develop and refine flood models for each community that include multiple drivers of flooding and can help communities understand present-day and future risk. Models can be used to explore the benefits and trade-offs of different infrastructure options in various future climates.
Deploy web cameras for improved flood risk communication. Pacific RISA and C3HE are collaborating to install new sensors and webcams in Hawaiʻi at flood hotspots to support public safety during floods and to validate and enhance flood risk assessment.
Analyze community vulnerabilities and adaptation priorities. This component will build a collective understanding of flood impacts, future risks, and climate change adaptation priorities among community members and decision-makers. Activities include workshops and analyzing data from interviews, oral histories, and household surveys.
Evaluate adaptation solutions and assess transferability across communities. Adaptation solutions identified by community members will be modeled to assess how they influence different types of flood risks under future scenarios. Peer exchange between the two regions can reveal commonalities and differences among communities and test the usefulness of this approach for evaluating solutions.
This map shows the initial results from a sample of the participatory flood interviews, using the interactive flood interview tool that was developed for Hawaii. (Figure credit: Brian Gorberg.)
Most recently (2024-2025) the team adapted and deployed a participatory flood interview and mapping tool tailored specifically for communities on Oʻahu. Building on a tool originally developed by the Carolinas CAP team, the Hawaiʻi version was redesigned to reflect local conditions, language, and community concerns. It is now being used to document flood observations and management preferences from residents in the Koʻolaupoko and Koʻolauloa regions.
The team also created a digital platform and dataset that captures lived flood experiences in areas with limited formal documentation. They engaged directly with kūpuna and community members, producing qualitative data that enhances understanding of flooding drivers and community-specific impacts. Multiple candidate sites for coastal camera installations have now been identified through collaboration with community members and the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation. Hardware has been assembled and tested to monitor roadway flood conditions in high-risk areas.
The 3-year project (2023-2026) is funded by the NOAA Climate Programs Office through special Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding (Federal Award No. NA23OAR4310474).
Pacific RISA Research Team Zena Grecni (Arizona State University)
Dr. Chris Shuler (University of Hawaiʻi Water Resources Research Center)
Dr. Matthew Widlansky (University of Hawaiʻi, JIMAR UH Sea Level Center)
Brian Gorberg (University of Hawaiʻi)
Community Engaged Flood Risk Modeling
Cross-CAP Community Engaged Flood Risk Modeling
Pacific RISA is collaborating with the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships team for the Carolinas region (C3HE), to conduct community-engaged research to support flood resilience in Hawaiʻi and North Carolina. The work centers on developing local flood risk models and engaging with community members to prioritize adaptation solutions in four coastal communities; the North Shore and northern Koʻolaupoko to southern Koʻolauloa on Oʻahu and; Down East Carteret County and Carolina Beach in North Carolina.
The CAP teams are partnering with community organizations in each region—Kualoa Heʻeia Ecumenical Youth (KEY) Project in Hawaiʻi and the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center in North Carolina—to lead engagement. The project aims to build collective capacity to advance community resilience goals and identify infrastructure investments that reduce risk, support wellbeing, and align with community values. As a cross-CAP project, the teams will exchange knowledge and work collaboratively to test innovative research and engagement methods across the two regions.
Core project components are:
Most recently (2024-2025) the team adapted and deployed a participatory flood interview and mapping tool tailored specifically for communities on Oʻahu. Building on a tool originally developed by the Carolinas CAP team, the Hawaiʻi version was redesigned to reflect local conditions, language, and community concerns. It is now being used to document flood observations and management preferences from residents in the Koʻolaupoko and Koʻolauloa regions.
The team also created a digital platform and dataset that captures lived flood experiences in areas with limited formal documentation. They engaged directly with kūpuna and community members, producing qualitative data that enhances understanding of flooding drivers and community-specific impacts. Multiple candidate sites for coastal camera installations have now been identified through collaboration with community members and the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation. Hardware has been assembled and tested to monitor roadway flood conditions in high-risk areas.
The 3-year project (2023-2026) is funded by the NOAA Climate Programs Office through special Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding (Federal Award No. NA23OAR4310474).
Pacific RISA Research Team
Zena Grecni (Arizona State University)
Dr. Chris Shuler (University of Hawaiʻi Water Resources Research Center)
Dr. Matthew Widlansky (University of Hawaiʻi, JIMAR UH Sea Level Center)
Brian Gorberg (University of Hawaiʻi)
Partners
NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships team for the Carolinas region (C3HE)
Kualoa Heʻeia Ecumenical Youth (KEY) Project in Hawaiʻi
Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center
Our Vision
Pacific Island communities that are resilient to climate impacts and using climate information to manage risks.
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