State of Louisiana Regional Adaptation Strategy

Summary

Louisiana is the most flood-prone state in the U.S., and its flood risks extend to all three types of flooding—coastal (surge and tidal), fluvial (riverine), and pluvial (intense rain causing surface flooding). Statistics paint a grim picture. According to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), more than 1,900 square miles have been lost in Louisiana since the 1930s, and an additional 4,120 square miles could be lost over the next 50 years. The state’s coastal condition directly correlates with its disaster risk—specifically vulnerability from severe tropical events and their accompanying catastrophic surge floods.

Louisiana is in the midst of an existential crisis. Its response to this crisis can either lead to a prosperous renaissance or to a continued and sustained cycle of disaster and recovery. The Coastal Master Plan—a $50 billion, 50-year coastal restoration and flood risk reduction effort—is the cornerstone of Louisiana’s response. However, even with the plan’s full implementation, it is likely the state will experience a net loss of land—and be faced with the increased coastal flood risk that comes from less land—over the next 50 years. In some communities, conditions are likely to get worse before they get better. For some, relocation will be the only viable option. While structural interventions like levees, pumps, and floodgates are vital to mitigate flood risk, complete protection is impossible. Adaptation is necessary, and as a comprehensive approach adaptation includes structural risk reduction systems and ecological restoration efforts. Adaptation must also include a large-scale rethinking of where and how development takes place in the future—and also where and how it does not.