Ways communities can prepare for coastal storms and flooding

Lecture to learn how individuals and communities can help
Fri, 04/20/2018 - 8:00am

BATH- In the past year, Midcoast Maine residents and visitors have had to deal with multiple wind storms that knocked out power and high waters that flooded coastal roads. How do we help our towns and neighborhoods deal with these types of threats now and in the future?

Join the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) for a conversation at the Patten Free Library that will focus on answering this question on Wednesday, May 2. This free lecture, at 6 p.m., will feature talks by Eileen Johnson from Bowdoin College and Dwane Hubert from the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

Johnson, a professor in Bowdoin College’s Environmental Studies Department, studies the factors and characteristics of towns and neighborhoods that make some well equipped to deal with threats like storms and flooding and leave others at a greater risk of being harmed by these events. She will share information about these factors and show maps of how these factors that create strengths or vulnerabilities are distributed in local towns.

Hubert is the director of the Mitigation, Planning, and Recovery Division of the Maine Emergency Management Agency. He will share information about actions that are happening at the state and local level to help prepare for the hazards caused by storms and flooding and identify opportunities that we can take advantage of in our local communities to address, manage, and overcome these hazards.

There will be time for questions and discussion about local opportunities and challenges. This lecture is the first of two hosted by KELT this spring that focus on how midcoast Maine communities can overcome and bounce back from changes. On Wednesday, June 6, a second presentation will focus on changes in the natural world and the things people can do to make it easier for the local fish, wildlife, and plants to deal with and adapt to changes.

The Patten Free Library is located at 33 Summer Street in Bath. Preregistration for the lecture is not required, but it is appreciated for help with program planning. For more information or to sign-up, visit KELT’s website at www.kennebecestuary.org or call (207) 442-8400.