Vietri, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said there are other solutions to homes and buildings themselves that could help mitigate risks outside of beach nourishment, like elevating houses.
But there are examples of strategic retreat being an option. Vietri gave an example on Long Island.
“They sit in the middle of a wetland…So rather than go spend tens of millions of dollars protecting, you know, maybe a hundred or so houses, it just made more sense there to just look at possibly buying them out.”
But, Vietri said, that’s a tough sell.
“It’s sort of a program that you have to work with the state, local officials, and the community, as well as the people who own those homes. But in this case, they were just getting so wet so often, it just became apparent, look, we got to do something. Make us an offer, and we’ll move on. So, we’re doing more and more of that these days,” Vietri said.
