Improving Coastal Resilience in Louisiana

Citing the critical danger posed by storm surge and resulting flooding, La. Gov. John Bel Edwards recently announced the Interagency Coastal Storm Surge-Based Flood Risk and Resilience Awareness Campaign, a partnership of state agencies to use “Story Maps” to promote awareness of Louisiana’s Comprehensive Coastal Master Plan.

The Master Plan is the foundational document underlying the campaign, as it identifies the risk to state infrastructure such as roads and bridges; and to services, facilities and systems for health care and education.

“Building knowledge and understanding of our Comprehensive Coastal Master Plan across state agencies and among our citizens, we can create a more resilient coastal Louisiana,” said Edwards.

The state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), developer and implementer of the state Comprehensive Coastal Master Plan, along with the Louisiana state departments of Education (LDOE), Health (LDH), and Transportation and Development (DOTD) have collaborated on the Interagency Coastal Storm Surge-Based Flood Risk and Resilience Awareness Campaign, using Story Maps to foster greater interagency coordination and public awareness of Louisiana’s future coastal challenges and to reduce risk and improve resilience.

Three interactive visually-focused Story Maps were created in partnership with the Louisiana State University (LSU) Economics & Policy Research Group (EPRG) and LSU Graphic Design Student Office (GDSO).

Based on data from the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, they illustrate Louisiana’s vanishing coast and the potential impacts from future land loss and coastal storm surge-based floods.