Flood Risk Adaptation in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Creation of Flood Risk Adaptation Strategies for Critical Public Facilities in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

The City of Chelsea is a coastal community that is facing an increased risk of flooding as climate change contributes to increased storm severity, sea level rise, and extreme heat events. The goal of this project was to provide flood adaptation strategy recommendations and relative cost estimates for public buildings critical to the City of Chelsea. Specifically, we evaluated five public buildings within the City of Chelsea to determine their structural and geographical characteristics that cause them to be at risk for coastal flood events, as well as their sensitivity to current and future flooding. Our team evaluated the probability of flooding for five critical buildings within the City of Chelsea and compiled a set of adaptation strategies and supplemental materials with the support of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant College Program.

Students: Heaney, Fiona H; Sesma, Maitane; Turchiarelli, Tyler J.; Vega, Andres

Sponsors:  City of Chelsea/MIT Sea Grant

Project Advisors: Paul Mathisen and Seth Tuler