New study on managed-retreat buyout programs

Flooded houses in South Carolina. Credit: Horry County

Government programs such as managed retreat are controversial. A new study published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction sheds light on the implications of buyout programs and other flood mitigation policies for rural communities and at-risk populations. The Climate Program Office’s Adaptation Sciences (AdSci) Research Program provided funding for the study in FY-21. The study looks at how buyout programs are working in two rural communities in the Carolinas (Bennettsville, SC and Tarboro, NC). Rural communities such as these are frequently flooded.