Sea inundation inevitable now, officials warn
(CNS): Sea level rise in the Cayman Islands is already having a significant impact on low-lying and coastal properties, and it is going to get far worse over the next 25 years, officials have warned. As the Ministry of Sustainability and Climate Resiliency begins its public meetings on the draft Climate Change Policy, the most pressing problem is managing the inevitable and worsening inundation of roads and property.
Appearing on Radio Cayman’s Talk Today show last week, senior civil servants from the sustainability ministry, the Department of Environment, Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) and the Cayman Islands National Weather Service (CINWS) talked about the policy and the need to begin adapting to the inevitable negative impacts of a changing climate.
The local authorities here can do nothing to prevent the consequences of a warming world, which is on track to miss the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. However, they can focus on mitigating the worst impacts caused by increasing emissions and other human activity degrading the planet.
To date, almost nothing has been done to prepare for excessive flooding and inundation of seawater that will continue to get worse over the next two to three decades.
DoE Director Gina Ebanks-Petrie said that while we can expect larger and more intense storms in the near future, the most critical direct effect of climate change here is sea level rise, which is already presenting problems.
“We are already beginning to see the effects,” she said, especially during higher tides. “Almost every time that happens now, we see groundwater, which is responding to the sea level… coming up through drains… and we see the sea coming over the road in places such as North Sound Estates.”
Ebanks-Petrie said it is possible that within the next 25 years, certain areas of Grand Cayman, both inland and coastal, will be permanently underwater or will experience frequent flooding.
She also noted how poorly-positioned structures on the beach compound the erosion. “Any time you put a hard structure on an active beach, you are inviting the sea to interact with that structure,” she said. “We are already seeing the walls and the structures exacerbating the problem.”
CINWS Director General John Tibbetts said the predicted increase in sea levels by well over a foot by 2050 may not sound like much, but a storm surge or a king tide will cause significant flooding because the damaging impact is multiplied.
The predicted increase in sea level will cause permanent inundation in some areas and the island will shrink, HMCI Communications Officer Simon Boxall warned. He explained that sea level rise is not just about coastal erosion but also the permeation of groundwater. Just three inches over the last few years has resulted in a five-fold increase in inundation during high tide flooding.
Pointed out the need to take decisive action, he said, “There are implications for our beaches… driving our cars through salt water…. What will it do to septic tanks?” It’s now very important to build in such a way that lives are not impacted, he added. “We have got to look really hard at what is going to happen,” he said, and warned that the type of flooding that was once a 50-year event will soon be happening all the time during higher tides.
The increase in flooding and inundation events could cause significant damage to roads, the sewage system and communication systems, and contaminate the water table as well as flood people’s homes.
Boxall said that despite the efforts of the relevant agencies to help the islands prepare for severe weather events and provide a greater understanding of what’s going to happen, Cayman is still very vulnerable. We need to begin building differently and make changes to planning laws to manage the flooding, he added.
Chief Officer Jennifer Ahearn said that some of the current planning regulations made it difficult for people to be innovative in the way they build. But she noted that regulations relating to the high water mark were minimums and developers could choose to build much further back.
However, this is almost unheard of, as all landowners seek to maximise profits. Applications to waive minimum coastal setbacks are frequently granted, and each month planning approval is given to develop on low-lying flood-prone areas that will suffer the consequences.
The Cayman Islands Government is even fighting itself in the controversial Boggy Sand case, where the Central Planning Authority has challenged a rare National Conservation Council direction to decline a planning application to rebuild a wall and a cabana on a beach location that is now physically in the water for significant parts of the year.
See the details of the climate policy and the town hall meetings here.
Watch the discussion on CIGTV Youtube channel below:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Climate Change, Policy, Politics, Science & Nature
Let’s play Connect the Dots!
Start>>> The rising sea levels pose a threat to the Cayman Islands…
-The rising sea levels are though to be due to melting ice caused by rising temperatures…
-The rising temperatures are caused by global climate change…
-Global climate change is caused by a rise in greenhouse gases…
-the rise in greenhouse gasses is lead by increasing CO2 levels…
-the rising CO2 levels is led by use of fossil fuels…
-inefficient use of fossil fuels exacerbates the problem…
-combustion engines have a high carbon footprint…
-per passenger mile, private jets have a higher carbon footprint than even private cars and are a horribly inefficient means of transportation…
-Panton and his PACTless Clown Car are preparing to spend some $42 million to enhance the terminal for private jets so luxury travelers will be encouraged to hop in their jets and fly here…
-When the water starts seeping under your doors, keep in mind that Panton is doing his part to make it happen… -You will have helped, too, if you buy an airline ticket…
-the Panton-PACTless Clown Car is planning to charge you an extra tax on airline tickets to help finance the rich people’s jet terminal…
-You peons get to pay more to fly commercial so rich folks can enjoy taking their private jets here and contribute about 20-times more CO2 per passenger mile than your commercial flight…
-Panton and his Clown Car have argued for banning single-use plastic but are fine with single passengers coming in on their luxury jets…
-People are total fools if they buy in to the illusion of Panton holding himself out to be a person who will actually protect the environment.
There…the dots are all connected!
(Remember this exercise when you go to vote in the next election.)
good morning, Please watch video on YouTube. https://youtu.be/_-OX-ZNAN-I
CNS: But first read this – Conservative cynic Konstantin Kisin is woefully ignorant about global warming
I don’t think it covers everything wrong with the speech, which seems mainly designed to make anti-woke enthusiasts laugh, but it’s a good start, especially this bit:
The only thing in the way of a solution in Kisin’s speech is the following, “The only thing we can do in this country to stop climate change is to make scientific and technological breakthroughs that will create clean energy that is not only clean but also cheap.”
Kisin either pretends or just flat out ignores that this solution has been the scientific consensus for years now. What he is unwilling to do is critique, say, Shell and Exxon for knowing about the deleterious effects of climate change, and keeping it under wraps to save their market share at the cost of our future in the 1980s.
Setbacks and impervious coverage rules are there for a reason. Too many variances are approved by CPA.
Lock the Central Planning Authority in a room and give them the full presentation of just how bad it is going to get. Hold nothing back. Explain the economic ruin, the risk to life, property, drinking water, arable land, infrastructure in general. Tell them how soon it will happen, how their own children will curse them. Tell them what the mangroves actually do.
Make them sign their names to what they have been shown and let everyone see it; read a summary of the projected devastation before every meeting.
Things must change, and fast. The waters are rising.
Nothing can stop what is coming but we can stop making it worse.
Too much time on your hands and scare easily to boot. You must be great company socially.
Never been a worse time to buy property in Cayman Kai.
Can’t wait to see the wealthy people that caused this to say something like this:
“Due to the increasing frequency and severity of adverse weather events we regret to inform you of an increase to your insurance premiums” and profit off their own mess.
If all the wealthy people in the world AND all of America AND Cayman Islands do everything in their power to mitigate climate change it would have no effect because of all the poor people in China, India, etc. can not stop what they are doing just to survive. This is the fault of mostly poor people and what they are doing for energy, cooking, staying warm, and transportation. The only thing that can make a global difference is coming up with a new cheap and easily obtainable energy source. And most rich people are rich because they work harder, longer, and smarter and most poor people are poor because they don’t. Just saying.
You got this exactly backwards; guess who fly more, drive more, consume (way) more.
Right, not the poor people.
And both solar & wind energy are now cheaper than diesel or gas powered generators. What’s missing is the will to implement these fairly accessible solutions.
12:09, Do yourself a favor and just stop saying.
Let me fix your opening sentence for you. If all the wealthy people in the world … do everything in their power to mitigate climate change it would – fix climate change (though not overnight).
While you are right that much of global climate pollution is driven by global development in order to raise global living standards, the global wealth is available to ‘fix’ this problem. Wholesale change to renewable energy sources (as someone else pointed out) is doable. It would just be incredibly expensive. And to do it equitably would mean a massive redistribution of current and future wealth from ‘all the wealthy people in the world’ to ‘everyone else’.
Its the same reason why we produce more food than the world needs but have famines around the world. Its really hard to fix problems that require changing what seems to be base (as in bad) human nature. (Greed and pollution in the case of climate change, greed for power in the case of food aid distribution interdictions. And self-centeredness in both cases, i.e., not-my-problem & keep-resources-for-my-people.)
To use a local example, we could all agree to pay more for electricity on a sliding scale by income and CUC could switch from diesel to solar-panels-with-batteries on my and my neighbours roofs in a few years. But I would have to pay the increase for myself and my neighbour (who earns less than me) and the apartment beside them where they have more people than roof space (so they need some of my and my neighbours roof space electricity or they lose power). I would also need to pay an extra surcharge for the food aid for the not working family living in the rundown shack at the end of the road. And for various reasons, perfectly legitimate in our eyes, none of us are volunteering to pay that extra to whoever needs to get it to make those two changes.
basic question: how much has sea levels risen in last 10 years?
basic retort: how much of the artic ice caps melted in the last 10 years?
Best reply: They havent.
They haven’t, Antarctica has actually acquired more ice.
CNS: You’re reading out-of-date articles, likely ones that jumped on a period of increasing ice to “prove” climate change is a hoax. For updated info, read: Antarctic Researchers Report an Extraordinary Marine Heatwave That Could Threaten Antarctica’s Ice Shelves
“Up until about 2014, science suggested that Antarctica was still gaining ice, but “that has shifted,” said [Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research].
Or you can check directly on the National Snow and Ice Data Center (scroll down for Antarctica).
“The sea levels increased by 60.8 mm between 1998 and 2015 relative to 1997 levels.”
If that doesn’t sound like a lot the next paragraph starts “The rising sea level is one of the greatest threats posed by climate change.” So you may wish to read the whole article.
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-much-has-the-sea-level-risen-since-1997.html
Hardly surprising.
Even in very recent memory (last 5 years or so), a lot of once cattle / goat pastures in the Sav area are now chock-o-block with ‘affordable’ housing. These fields always flooded (as far back as i remember), now any natural drainage is further impacted by cement and roads.
Look at hirst road for example
Focusing on mitigation is the best we can do. These carbon reduction targets set by the Paris accord are not going to be hit, and in reality don’t achieve much. Better to adapt to the changing climate instead of thinking we can reverse it.
Sure, tell that to your grandkids. Fingers in ears and hands over eyes has not been an astute plan so far. Doing nothing has resulted in the agricultural fresh water crisis underway; major fisheries are on track to be gone by 2048, and 1 billion migrants from elsewhere standing outside your house by 2050. 3 years to the tipping point, eating more plants shouldn’t be such a radical consideration, given the stakes.
I’m not saying “do nothing” but rather we need to take a better approach than just saying reduce carbon emissions. Being alarmist about the situation doesn’t help either.
Being alarmist doesn’t help? Then what does? Because being relaxed about it sure hasn’t.
Don’t be alarmist is double-speak for do nothing. Or at least do nothing that bothers us. You may not mean it that way but that is the effect and meaning of your words.
Adopting sensible policies that will actually have an effect, instead of doing stuff that just feels good.
the last 24 years I have been on island the water level hasn’t risen one inch in South Sound where I live and I go fishing almost every week
Who knew we had a scientist fisherman?! Brilliant!
where I live it’s gone up at least 6 in when it rises and I’m on a very high property so logic defies your statement. ripping out more mangroves is only going to cause catastrophic problems when the next big hurricane hits. that will cause all of our insurances to go up, including yours. We should all be concerned about drainage being ripped from our land that will cost us money but developers will be making more because they’ve already ran away with the money after being built. If you don’t wake up you’re the one losing and it’s not the big people it’s the little people who keep defending these actions just to save 15 minutes in traffic etc etc.
9:18, Guess you don’t remember when Ivan hit South Sound.
Wait. You mean sea level increased when a hurricane passed just to the south. Shocker!
Shhh, that doesn’t fit the narrative.
Cool story bro
Yes but that is just for you…and me too really. Considering that we are all living on coral rock formed when the oceans were much higher than now and…..well just consider that and then bring in climate change now……and what do you get? I only know what I get.
Post industrial sea levels are up a couple inches and will creep ever higher in future. Recurrent neighbourhood flooding is already here. Unplanned neighborhoods can be corrected with a drainage plan and government assistance to survey and drill necessary municipal drainage wells, gullies, sewerage etc. Apologizing to residents for neglecting this responsibility for 20-30 years would be a good start, while signing off on the public works project. Let’s not confuse these two different problems. One of these can be fixed with a capital budget of ordinary civic infrastructure, if they really wanted to. Please don’t keep voting for reps that don’t care about quality of life, or point at something else as the cause.
Jay Ebanks nor Eric bush get this nor does their minions and their consigliere’s McKeewa and Kurt who are simple too greedy comprehend this and would put down to high tides !
Cayman can be the Venice of the Caribbean
Poopoo water and all!
Or the planning regulations can be amended now , in recognition of the rising waters warning , and we can be ahead of the floods being forecast.
Proactive planning.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
NASA expects ocean levels to be up 12 inches from today’s levels by 2050. More importantly, by 2050 we have other problems. Onshore, there is already a dire fresh water crisis unfolding from global meat and dairy industries (unchecked by 2050, 70+ billion livestock grown for food we still don’t need to eat). By 2048 remaining fisheries (>50% farmed already) are expected to have collapsed, and of the future 9.7 billion human population by 2050, there’s >1 billion climate migrants expected to be on the move, knocking on doors. If by some miracle we aren’t also in a savage global survival resources war, we are definitely on the brink. That makes us, today, one of the final generations of human peace and privilege. Like many other places in the super-hurricane belt, post Cat 6 Cayman is probably not going to be rebuilt, insurable, or widely inhabited by that point. There are no flights here. Soak in all in.
Most of the Netherlands is below sea level, they seem to be doing just fine. Start building coastal defences now, you have 25 years to complete because absolutely nothing can stop sea level rise if you believe all the narrative, while conveniently forgetting climate change is cyclical.
CNS: A common trope but BS. No one has forgotten that climate change is cyclical, particularly climate scientist since studying climate, present and past, is the actual definition of what they do. How is the current global warming trend different from previous warming periods in Earth’s history?
As your link points out, the *models* *could* be correct. Or they could be incorrect.
Models are often incorrect. But if you run enough of them odds will give you a match and the failed models are forgotten. The magnitude of what’s being measured is massively smaller than the errors and variables in modeling when it comes to climate. There are 1000s of variables.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/climate-change-global-warming-computer-model-11642191155?st=5eotefamj84zvvz&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Maybe the models are correct and maybe not.
One thing is for sure, people have lost a lot of faith in agenda and profit driven science. And for good reason.
What a shame. A bit of skepticism is probably a healthy thing.
CNS: First of all, thank you for the link to an excellent article in the WSJ. I cannot imagine how you think it supports your argument, though. It really highlights the need to continue to fund the field of climatology to continue to improve models. But note this paragraph:
Skeptics have scoffed at climate models for decades, saying they overstate the hazards of carbon dioxide. But a growing body of research shows many climate models have been uncannily accurate. For one recent study, scientists at NASA, the Breakthrough Institute in Berkeley, Calif., and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology evaluated 17 models used between 1970 and 2007 and found most predicted climate shifts were “indistinguishable from what actually occurred.”
Me again: Science should always be questioned. This is the definition of science and it’s what scientists do – they research and constantly test what is known and push the boundaries of knowledge. For climatologists, this is especially important because their work will help governments and industries decide what to do.
Most of the climate denial (not scepticism) is funded by the trillion-dollar fuel industry. When Koch Industries hands a couple of million to the Heritage Foundation and a few more million to political campaigns, the dividends are extreme. But in the most head-spinning example of gaslighting of all time, this has somehow become about the greed of academics. (The fuel industry learned how to handle pesky scientists digging into their profits from the tobacco industry’s antics a few decades ago.)
I hope you actually read the WSJ article and not just the headline. It really is very informative. Note also the final paragraph:
“I think the climate models are the best tool we have to understand the future, even though they are far from perfect,” said Dr. Gettelman. “I’m not worried that the new models might be wrong. What scares me is that they might be right.”
just look at rona models… what a farce they all were.
Must be right on climate change tho right? LOL
Spot on.
@CNS – if you go back and watch Al Gores Inconvenient Truth you will see how accurate these Scientist are. Failed horribly on the hockey stick and all major assertions presented.
CNS: The film got some things right and some things wrong, but deniers pounce on what Al Gore got wrong to dismiss what he got right, which is a far more dangerous exaggeration than anything in the film. Denying that the glaciers are melting and the ocean is warming… while the glaciers and melting and the ocean is warming is just dumb. Also, remember that the point of the film to shake politicians awake and make the public more aware, which he succeeded to a degree.
What ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ Got Right (And Wrong) About Climate Change
The point of science is to expand knowledge, based on what has gone before. Dismissing the field of science, in this case climatology, because more is known now is just a lack of understanding. They got a lot right.
@CNS
They keep telling us to sell oceanfront land while they buy oceanfront land and fly around in private jets. Just saying.
https://www.homesandgardens.com/news/president-obama-new-house-marthas-vineyard
https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/bill-gates-bachelor-beach-house-is-a-43-million-nightmare-for-del-mar/
They seem less concerned than you.
CNS: The Obamas’ home is 10 feet above sea level, so it should be fine for at least a couple of centuries. The one-foot rise will be devastating for low-lying areas, especially large cities vulnerable to hurricanes. I don’t understand the point you’re making. The other link – one of the richest men in the world is or isn’t building or house??
The point about private jets is definitely valid. In an age where lunatics get riled up by garbage on the internet, especially in the US where they probably also have guns, you can understand why the rich and famous do it, but it’s clearly not sustainable. Hey! We agreed on something!
What you are missing is this is not just about sea level rise. This is about the unavoidable ‘climate disaster’ and severe rain inundation. Watch any disaster forecast movie and get prepared my friend. All storms, not just some storms, are going to be powerful and unavoidable. Florida is getting hammered- too many people and too many hard surfaces. We are flat and people can drown. Other Caribbean nations experience landslides that bury you alive.
People should pay attemtion to the climate and weather news around the world. India is facing extremely high unprecedented temperatures.
The planet is getting hotter by the day. Mankind has ruined the Earth.
What has been the measured rise in sea levels in Cayman?
Well with about a years worth of data and a hazy crystal ball it’s anybody’s guess. Maybe if they’d installed measuring equipment decades ago our Lands & Survey Dept might have had an answer. Some things are better off not knowing besides the bad news might scare away investment.
Excuse me sir no questions are allowed just give more money to the govt and they will make the weather better
Cayman doesn’t need to compile or present a unique data set. The Caribbean Sea is connected to the Atlantic, and that to the globe’s other oceans which all go up the same amount as melt water adds volume that was previously locked up as land-based permanent ice. This land thawing also releases frozen arctic pockets of methane gases, 16x more warming than C02. The fresh water changes salinity, ocean/air currents, and weather. The pace of thawing is logarithmic, not linear. At +1.5’C tipping point, in less than 3 years, a positive feedback loop starts where things get much worse and faster than we or Earth will be able to mitigate. Fresh water crisis is already happening globally from agriculture, ocean fishery collapse projected by 2050, and >1 billion human climate migrants on the move. Among regrets will probably be that today’s peak privilege generations didn’t just eat the healthy and delicious salads that were available and as was recommended by UN FAO, UN IPCC, David Attenborough, Arnold Swarzenegger and many others. Everyone would rather see how bad it can get for themselves.
Cayman employee incompetent English and Canadians who do not have this type of tropical flooding in their country. Apply for employment here in Cayman in these type of job opening opportunities, which you can see our planning department policy and laws sector cannot find proper solutions or laws and regulations to aid in situation such as this problem seen here in this article.
Huh?
The only part of this comment that makes sense is “incompetent English”
Methinks this is sarcasm
No, the writer at 6:57am has terribly incompetent English communication skills. On an English Island.
Absolutely no sarcasm. All 100% fact.
Please can you write that again in English?
I am calling upon the Cayman Brac government to urgently put in place regulations to permit the purchase of Bluff land only by those who can demonstrate Brac ancestry. Also we need our own Cayman Brac passports.
Ah the welfare island wants independence.
Let them go. They want their freedom.
Freedom from what…?
Law and order
International investment.
Stability
Independent Judiciary.
Social harmony.
Good infrastructure.
Reliable utilities…
My God the list goes on and on.. .
The only people who want independence would be those politicians who are anxious to have unfettered access to power and the National purse.
You want Jamaica.. ffs go live and enjoy their Independence.
The only thing I don’t like about Gina Ebanks-Petrie is how much government, particularly planning, completely ignore her. Keep at them Gina, and we should help by holding them accountable.
We can start by stop the destruction of the mangroves and the laying of more asphalt. But hey, all the politicians want people to get home, the irony is the rate we going people won’t have any home to go home to smh.
A foot by 2050? Where did that number come from?
Haven’t you seen the chart? It follows that:
2052 – foot leg
2059 – kneecap
2062- buttcheek
2067- chin
2070 – 😵💫
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
NASA.
What they said.
NASA: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3146/sea-level-to-rise-up-to-a-foot-by-2050-interagency-report-finds/
Don’t focus on exactly how many inches in exactly how many years. A foot by 2050 ae approximations. If it turns out to be 11″ by 2050 an 12″ by 2057, or 13″ at 2045, and we did nothing because we didn’t want to accept that the sea level is rising and preferred to argue semantics we will have lost the forest for the trees.
We know the sea level is rising and have an idea by how much so we have the opportunity to act now to make our lives less-bad later.
Need to start building houses on stilts. 😂
And planting mangroves…
Oops..
Need to stop building, period. Need to stop killing mangrove and other soil/sand-retaining plants. Need to make those who profited by building ridiculously close to the water to pay for their own property mitigation and loss. Need to reform the CPA into an organisation which is motivated to protect the people and the environment, not foreign investor pockets.
We need educated and ethical persons on the CPA
At watcher: And what about their own pockets?????
i thought my brother was mad when he built his foundation on canal 22 ft above sea level…heck…he was smart…no flooding even during ivan…lol
Yes, this is the same thing they told us in grade school about Florida when I lived there. That was 50 years ago, guess what, Florida isn’t underwater. That’s why they tell you 20-25 years…
Key West. Google. Learn.
Key West is at the exact same sea level as I was a child, this is 50 Years ago.
CNS: Meanwhile, scientists who take actual measurements at Key West have recorded a sea level rise of about 0.84 feet over the last 100. The average rise per year is only a few mm, which you cannot see by eyeballing it. See here.
National Geographic: Sea levels are rising at an extraordinary pace. Here’s what to know.
7:25, Obviously you did not live on Stock Island in the Keys. My place there has been flooded with 4 feet of water 5 times in the past 10 years.
That never happened 50 years ago.
And you are trying to say the sea level has no risen?
Get your head out of the sand and open your eyes next time you are in the Keys and talk to locals there.
Well 2:47, my part of Florida was under water for a month after the hurricane last year. Also, take a trip to the Florida Keys and you will change your view, guaranteed.
Like the dump, in typical Cayman fashion, we will all know about this issue but not address it until it’s way too late.
Can you say the traffic problem? So many examples of this.
YAWN!!!! Yet they keep tearing down the mangroves.
Never been a better time to learn how to swim.
See you down in Agnes Way Bay
Mitigating the effects of sea inundation in the Cayman requires a combination of adaptation measures and efforts to address the underlying causes of sea level rise. Here are some strategies that can help:
1. Coastal Protection and Infrastructure: Implementing coastal protection measures such as seawalls, breakwaters, and dunes can help reduce the impact of sea inundation. These structures can help prevent erosion and provide a buffer against storm surges and rising sea levels. Additionally, upgrading and fortifying critical infrastructure like roads, utilities, and buildings in vulnerable areas can enhance their resilience to flooding.
2. Natural Ecosystem Preservation: Preserving and restoring natural ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, and wetlands can provide natural barriers and absorb the impact of storm surges. These ecosystems act as buffers and can help reduce the force of waves, protect shorelines, and provide habitat for marine life. Protecting and maintaining healthy ecosystems is vital for long-term coastal resilience.
3. Land Use Planning and Zoning: Implementing appropriate land use planning and zoning regulations can help prevent further development in high-risk coastal areas. Restricting construction in vulnerable zones, promoting setback requirements, and guiding development to safer locations can minimize exposure to sea inundation and protect valuable coastal resources.
4. Building Codes and Standards: Implementing stringent building codes and standards that consider the risks of sea inundation and flooding is crucial. Structures should be designed to withstand the forces associated with rising sea levels and storm surges. Elevating buildings, using flood-resistant materials, and incorporating flood-proofing measures can help reduce the vulnerability of infrastructure and communities.
5. Public Awareness and Education: Raising awareness among the public about the risks and impacts of sea inundation is important. Educating residents about appropriate responses, emergency preparedness, and the importance of sustainable coastal practices can help build resilience at the individual and community levels.
6. Collaboration and International Cooperation: Addressing the challenges of sea inundation requires collaboration and cooperation at various levels. The Cayman Islands can work with regional and international organizations, as well as neighboring countries, to share knowledge, expertise, and resources. Collaborative efforts can include sharing best practices, accessing funding for adaptation projects, and participating in research and monitoring initiatives.
It’s important to note that while these measures can help mitigate the effects of sea inundation, addressing the underlying causes of sea level rise, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change, is essential for long-term sustainability and resilience.
See: https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/16/3761/2016/acp-16-3761-2016.pdf
“Implementing coastal protection measures such as seawalls, breakwaters, and dunes can help reduce the impact of sea inundation”. I think “seawalls” needs more clarification. One has to also ask the question: has the Planning Department and other CIG entities charged with being experts in Hazard Management, done nearly enough to sound the alarm over the past two decades? Rhetorical question! No new information here is new, other than many will lose their homes whilst developers and highly paid government persons (political and other) will retire on their fat investments / remunerations, often in foreign lands.
Living for today, no worries on the future.
Fire the diggers, mixers, and dump trucks up.
Carnival never stops.
don’t stop the carnival
While not directly related to sea level rise, the Gov’t should require CUC to allow customers to install solar panels to power their own homes, while purchasing power from CUC to subsidize, instead of CUC kicking them off the grid. Monopoly need a kick in the butt.
Not happening, the dark force is strong with the consortium protecting and supporting the monopoly. As shares are passed down to offspring the monopoly will perpetuate until insurrection or at least another two decades, whichever comes first.
The real issue of solar is that CUC has instilled the fear of grid instability at every possible level in order to keep its monopoly on power distribution, the big issue of solar as being on a permitted to installation basis is a reflection of that policy that likeledly will not change for as long as the monopoly holds.
As to people being kicked off the grid , this is a myth, while they can resort to that , there are very few homes that got impacted In as such a manner. You can perfectly have batteries that feed into your home from your solar panel installation and CUC cannot say a word about it , you can even have a separate CORE program agreement and feed into the grid , from the moment your system does not communicate with the batteries and the grid in general/
What is legal to do so far boils down to this :
1) CORE Program participation that feed into your grid tied installation, (lets say your A/C, car chargers, pool pumps).
2) Solar + battery autonomous system that feeds power into your home (lights, washers, TVs, computers, cooktops , water heaters).
The size of the investment is sizeable but it is worth it, the power from the batteries is more stable than what the grid provides, nothing forbids you even to double your generation with a good old generator in case there isn’t any production from your panels for weeks at a time.
Why isn’t this type of installation more common ??? FUD , FEAR,UNCERTAINTY, DOUBT, all orchestrated to keep you into CUC’s clutches and at the business end of End of Life , polluting ,diesel generators .
You are allowed to. (See the longer answer by another poster below. Boils down to panels, batteries, automatic transfer switch.) It just costs too much. – This isn’t an argument over technology, it is over economy.
SEA LEVEL RISE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE CAYMAN ISLANDS (2009)
Produced by The Cavman Institute for the Government of the Cayman Islands and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Authors: Dr. Murray C. Simpson, Nicholas B. Robson and Professor David Smith
http://www.caymaninstitute.org.ky/pdf/sea_level_rise_report.pdf
They are correct to modernize planning because cayman allows some truly awful structures to be built… but this fear based narrative like “a foot in 30 years” championed by European bureaucrats is totally dubious.
Key West residents probably thought the same. FAFO mode now.
FAFO soon come here too.
Soon come? It’s here already. Welcome to the FO portion of FA.
We calling on Government to stop chipping down the Brac Bluff and shipping it to Grand. In 100 years time that Bluff land will be badly needed where Caymanians can live on dry land.