Rising Seas & Sinking Land: How Coastal Virginia is Combating Climate Change

Last year, Gov. Ralph Northam appointed retired Navy Admiral Ann Phillips to spearhead efforts for coastal adaptation to climate change.

After nearly 31 years in the Navy where she implemented climate change adaptation plans, she is traveling the state putting together a coastal master plan. 

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore sits at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. 

It's a climate change hot spot, where rising waters and stronger storms are eroding about 12 feet of shoreline every year.  For NASA, science and persistence are major tools in climate resilience.

Trees are big money in Virginia, generating some $21 billion each year, according to the state department of Forestry. Another $6.6 billion is attributed to forest contribution to air and water quality.

Now, the city of Virginia Beach is looking at the value of the city's forests as one solution to their flooding problems caused by climate change and the region's sinking lands.

For neighborhoods along the Atlantic coast and the Chesapeake Bay, recurrent flooding that comes with climate change makes it hard to navigate, especially during seasonal high tides and more frequent extreme wind events like Nor'easters.

Now, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science has a tool to help people throughout the region prepare for a flood.

You've probably heard coastal Virginia is sinking. That leads to more flooding, even on sunny days, because sea levels are rising, storms are stronger and currents are changing.

In the city of Hampton, high tides can block roads and creep into parking lots, yards and homes.