Building Resilience in Virginia Beach Neighborhoods Vulnerable to Flooding and Sea Level Rise

Virginia Beach (City) is a low lying, coastal community bounded by the Chesapeake Bay to the north and Atlantic Ocean to the east. The City is a popular tourist hub and is home to several United States Military bases. Its coastal location, susceptibility to tidal influence coupled with exposure to extreme rainfall events makes it particularly vulnerable to flooding. The City experienced extreme rainfall events in the recent past, including Hurricane Matthew (2016) that caused severe flooding city-wide. In response, the City expedited planned investments in flood mitigation measures for vulnerable neighborhoods. An integrated approach to flood mitigation was adopted that includes a combination of tidal barriers, stormwater storage, and stormwater conveyance solutions that work together to increase resilience. The solutions presented in this paper support the City’s resilience adaptation strategy, and are examples of vulnerable neighborhoods that can be effectively protected with physical tidal barriers.