Coastal Flood Risk Reduction Using Nature-Based and Hybrid Solutions

Reza Marsooli, Assistant Professor
Affiliation: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Ocean Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

Flood risks, exacerbated by rising sea levels and increasingly severe storms, pose substantial economic challenges worldwide. In the U.S. alone, annual flood-related costs are estimated to be between approximately $180 billion and $500 billion, accounting for up to 1.7% of the nation’s GDP. A significant share of flood damages occurs in developed coastal regions, where coastal flooding disrupts critical infrastructure, displaces residents, and strains economic resources. To mitigate coastal flood risks, nature-based solutions (NbS), including hybrid solutions that integrate natural features (e.g., vegetation) with engineered defenses (e.g., seawalls), may effectively reduce damages while providing co-benefits such as carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat preservation.

This talk will examine novel approaches for the optimum design of hybrid solutions and quantifying their flood hazard reduction performance, highlighting examples of hybrid seawall-vegetation solutions and their associated economic benefits.

The talk will then provide an overview of NbS practices and projects in New Jersey, a U.S. state particularly vulnerable to coastal flooding. Key topics will include state guidelines for NbS, such as living shorelines, and real-world examples of implemented projects.

Reza Marsooli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. His main research is among others, on flood hazards, nature-based flood mitigation, storm surge and wave climate. He is the former President of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)-Central Jersey Branch and a Board member of ASCE in New Jersey.

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