How to build flood resilience for communities of every size

Across the country, communities large and small face the devastating impact of flooding, yet each community’s ability to recover and plan for the future is different. The American Flood Coalition, in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Arcadis, created this online tool to help local leaders determine approaches to flooding or sea level rise that can work best for them.

Drawing on examples from the U.S. and the Netherlands – a country with a long history of flood challenges and innovations – this tool highlights 26 approaches broken down by cost, benefits, and other considerations.

The case studies and approaches in this tool are originally from the manual Adaptation for All: How to Build Flood Resilience for Communities of Every Size, created by the American Flood Coalition, in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Arcadis. Local leaders seeking further guidance may turn to this manual, which includes a more detailed overview of flood solutions, as well as a glossary of flood terms and explanations of flood risk and data.

Use the tool below to filter through programs by (1) selecting the Approach(es) your community wishes to explore and (2) selecting Characteristics of the flood solutions using the drop down menus.

For a full description of each approach and characteristic, view our key.