Coastal hazards and the built environment on barrier islands: A retrospective view of Nags Head in the late 1990s

This article provides a summary of past disasters, and hazard mitigation in itiatives in the state of North Carolina, with a focus on the barrier islan d of Nags Head. The article also highlights the application of GIS technolo gy to assess (i) the built environment and the extent of development and ta x base in the "danger" zones (floods, oceanfront hazard zone, incipient inl ets); (ii) the status of pre-Flood Insurance Rate Mapping (FlRM) structures on developed parcels; and (iii) vacant land in relation to current zoning. Findings show that 72% of Nags Head was developed, with close to one-third of the developed parcels within the oceanfront hazard zone. A relatively h igh percentage of structures built prior to Nags Head's regular participati on in the Flood Insurance Rate Mapping (FIRM) program also lie within incip ient inlets and VE flood zones. These findings were used as part of Nags He ad's ongoing hazard mitigation initiatives.