Update to New Hampshire’s Coastal Flood Risk Summary is Underway

An update of the 2019-2020 New Hampshire Coastal Flood Risk Summary is currently underway and will fulfill the requirements of RSA 483-B:22, which directs NHDES to supervise the updating of storm surge, sea-level rise, precipitation and other relevant projections recommended in the 2014 Coastal Risk and Hazard Commission Science and Technical Advisory Panel report at least every five years. NHDES Coastal Program staff are collaborating with staff from New Hampshire Sea Grant/University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension to manage the project. 

In October 2024, the project kicked off with its first steering committee meeting. Steering committee members include staff from multiple state agencies and from the two regional planning commissions in the coastal region. The committee is responsible for overseeing the project, including the updates to the Coastal Flood Risk Summary, which is comprised of two parts, "Part I: Science" and "Part II: Guidance for Using Scientific Projections."   

The update to the science report kicked off in November 2024, when the science team convened for its first meeting. The science team is comprised of scientific experts from the University of New Hampshire, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other public and private organizations. The update to the science report is expected to be completed in late spring of 2025. The update to the guidance report will begin in the spring of 2025 and is expected to be completed in early 2026. Training events on how to use the guidance report will be held in the spring of 2026. 

More information about this project can be found on the project’s website.