THE CHALLENGE

The City of Imperial Beach is a low-lying coastal community just north of the U.S.-Mexico border that is vulnerable to flooding, particularly as sea level continues to rise. During seasonal peak tides and energetic wave events, the City already experiences flooding that impacts residents, businesses, and infrastructure.

THE SOLUTION

The Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation has teamed up with the Imperial Beach community to upgrade the city's flood alert capabilities and to develop tools to better prepare stakeholders for sea-level rise.

FOCUS AREAS

The dedicated observing network and modeling system is providing the information needed for accurate, early flood warnings for vulnerable locations throughout the city, as well as the baseline information needed to develop and evaluate future sea-level rise adaptation strategies.

The relative contributions of tides, waves, and sea level are documented for coastal flooding events around the city in an effort to relate wave and water level conditions to historic and ongoing flooding events at Imperial Beach.

Click here to see our analysis of historic flooding events in Imperial Beach.