Below is a statement from the President and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, Frank Knapp Jr., regarding this morning’s release by Climate Central of a comprehensive new interactive tool to assess flooding vulnerability from sea level rise along the South Carolina coast.
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“Today Climate Central has released a comprehensive new tool that will make it much easier for local units of government and citizens to assess inundation vulnerability from different scenarios of future sea level rise. These interactive maps are in granular detail reflecting street level flooding not previously available from other public tools. Included in the maps is the ability to show who and what will be in the flooded areas—ethnicity, income levels, property values and physical structures like hospitals, fire stations and government buildings. Our South Carolina Businesses Acting on Rising Seas (SCBARS.org) project has demonstrated that coastal small businesses are concerned about the threat of sea level rise to our vibrant tourism economy, they support reducing carbon emissions that drive climate change and rising seas; and they want local units of government to start planning for sea level rise. The municipalities of Charleston, North Myrtle Beach, Georgetown and Beaufort are asked to create community-based sea level rise task forces to begin to develop strategies to make their communities more resilient to different sea level rise scenarios.”