Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Atlantic Beach Mayor Discusses Preparations For Sea Level Rise

Flooding at Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Beach during Hurricane Irma.
City of Atlantic Beach
Flooding at Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Beach during Hurricane Irma.

The City of Atlantic Beach is proactively addressing sea level rise and climate adaptation by developing a coastal vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan. 

Mayor Ellen Glasser said Monday on First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross that Atlantic Beach won a $40,000 state grant to develop a coastal resiliency plan for the community.

At the same time, all three Beaches mayors are working with Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on a sea level rise committee for the entire First Coast region.

“Along with my partner beach mayors, there’s a lot of synergy going on in terms of this discussion. We started looking at some of the modeling on the impact of sea level rise, and it’s pretty scary actually. So we started looking at what we could be doing in terms of coastal resiliency.”

Glasser said the resiliency plan for Atlantic Beach will look at everything from protecting oceanfront homes and businesses to planning for transportation and infrastructure impacts to stormwater and drainage issues.

Related: Listen to the full interview with Mayor Glasser

Melissa Ross can be reached at mross@wjct.org, 904-358-6382 or on Twitter at @MelissainJax.

Melissa Ross joined WJCT in 2009 with 20 years of experience in broadcasting, including stints in Cincinnati, Chicago, Orlando and Jacksonville. During her career as a television and radio news anchor and reporter, Melissa has won four regional Emmys for news and feature reporting.