The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Highways Division recently released its Climate Adaptation Action Plan and its exposure assessments and a hazard viewer tool.
The plan responds to the impact of severe weather events and the forecasted impacts of climate change on the state’s roads and bridges.
“We are planning and preparing our infrastructure for the natural hazards ahead to avoid impacts where possible and ensure quick recovery in vulnerable areas,” Ed Sniffen, Hawaii Department of Transportation deputy director for highways, said. “Having and sharing a coordinated action plan for climate adaptation and building it into all facets of our agency culture is a major step in protecting highway facilities and the people who depend on them.”
The action plan focuses on potential risks and impacts to state roads and bridges from severe weather hazards and offers strategies for a more resilient highway system. Severe weather hazards include rising sea levels, lava flows, landslides, floods, and wildfires.
The hazard viewer shows the areas most susceptible to hazards such as rockfall and landslide exposure and precipitation and temperature projections. The tool is available on the HDOT website. It was created to make the visualizations of the hazard data more accessible.
Exposure assessments include wildfire and storm surges.