King tides and high winds pose heightened risk to coastal areas this week, experts warn – KVAL

Report on King Tides in Coastal Oregon and Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Event Summary

The annual king tides are occurring along the Oregon coast, with the first of three anticipated sets beginning this week. This natural phenomenon, characterized by the highest tides of the year, poses a heightened risk to coastal areas due to a concurrent high wind warning. The convergence of these conditions increases the potential for damage and disruption to coastal communities.

Public Safety and Resilient Communities: SDG 3 and SDG 11

Official advisories emphasize public safety as the primary concern. This focus aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) by seeking to prevent injury and loss of life. The event also highlights the challenges for Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), which calls for making human settlements safe, resilient, and sustainable in the face of natural hazards.

• Coos County Sheriff Gabe Fabrizio has urged the public to maintain a safe distance from the coast.
• Warnings are in effect to stay off beaches and avoid any areas where water surges, potentially reaching up to 20 feet, could occur.
• The combination of high winds and extreme tides significantly amplifies the danger to both individuals and infrastructure.

Climate Action and Environmental Impact: SDG 13 and SDG 14

King tides provide a tangible preview of future sea-level rise, directly illustrating the impacts of climate change. This event serves as a critical data point for understanding and addressing Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action). The increased intensity of such events underscores the urgent need for climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. Furthermore, the potential for coastal erosion and flooding threatens coastal ecosystems, a key concern of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water).

Forecast and Strategic Recommendations

The highest tides are forecast to occur between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. from Wednesday through Friday. In response to this recurring event and its broader implications for sustainable development, the following actions are recommended:

1. Enhance Public Awareness: Continue to educate coastal populations about the risks associated with extreme tidal events, promoting adherence to safety protocols to support SDG 3.
2. Invest in Resilient Infrastructure: Utilize observations from king tides to inform the development of coastal infrastructure that can withstand future sea-level conditions, directly contributing to the targets of SDG 11.
3. Integrate Climate Data into Planning: Local and state authorities should systematically incorporate data from events like king tides into long-term climate action plans to advance the objectives of SDG 13.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • The article focuses on the safety and potential for “damage and turmoil” in Coos Bay, a coastal community. The warnings issued by the Coos County Sheriff are a direct effort to make the human settlement safer and more resilient in the face of a natural hazard, which aligns with the goal of creating safe and sustainable communities.
2. SDG 13: Climate Action
   • King tides, especially when combined with extreme weather like high winds, are considered climate-related hazards. They offer a glimpse into future conditions with sea-level rise. The article’s discussion of these dangers and the need for safety precautions directly relates to strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related natural disasters.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.
   • The article directly addresses this target by highlighting the danger of the king tides, which are a water-related disaster. The sheriff’s warning to “keep a safe distance” and stay off beaches is a preventative measure aimed at reducing the number of people affected and preventing deaths or injuries.
2. Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
   • The community’s response, through the sheriff’s office issuing safety warnings, is an example of strengthening resilience. By preparing the public for the heightened risk posed by the combination of king tides and high winds, the community is increasing its adaptive capacity to these climate-related hazards.
3. Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
   • This news article itself, along with the official “high wind warning” and the sheriff’s public statement, serves as a tool for awareness-raising and early warning. It informs the public about the specific threat (“waves can surge up to 20 feet”), the timing (“11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Wednesday through Friday”), and the necessary precautions, thereby improving human capacity to respond to the event.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Existence of Early Warning Systems:
   • The article explicitly mentions a “high wind warning” is ongoing in coastal cities. This warning, coupled with the sheriff’s specific advice, indicates the presence of a local disaster risk reduction strategy and an early warning system in place. This serves as an indicator for Target 13.3.
2. Dissemination of Public Safety Information:
   • The sheriff’s direct quotes advising the public to “stay off the beaches” and “keep a safe distance” are tangible examples of public safety information being disseminated. The act of communicating this risk to the public is an implied indicator of efforts to strengthen resilience and reduce the potential number of people affected by the disaster, relevant to Targets 11.5 and 13.1.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article. In this table, list the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), their corresponding targets, and the specific indicators identified in the article.

Source: kval.com