As seen on Local 10 News

While state and local agencies work on improving public infrastructure, experts say protecting South Florida’s coastline requires more than government intervention.

Albert Slap, founder of a flood and climate change risk assessment company, said private property owners — from homeowners to businesses — must also take steps to make their buildings more resilient.

“A lot of people who aren’t from South Florida don’t know what king tides and sea level rise are all about,” Slap said. “They think it’s something that’s going to happen in the dystopic future. If you want to see king tides, come on down and we will give you the king tide tour.”

Slap added that resilience means preparing for and recovering quickly from weather-related threats.

“What does resilient mean? It means you’re prepared for these events and that your building is stronger and hardened in certain ways, and that you can recover quickly,” he said. “You’re at risk from Mother Nature’s butt-kicking now. And if climate change is what we call a threat multiplier — and it’s going to get worse in 20 years — focus on the here and now.”

He emphasized that practical improvements can have immediate payoffs.

“If the benefits exceed the cost of doing something now, whether it’s a 150-mile-an-hour roof versus a 90-mile-an-hour roof, or better windows, or raising your electrical and plumbing systems above the flood zone, you can’t ignore the present when you’re trying to understand the future,” Slap said.

Slap compared the approach to how cities once prioritized fire protection.

“Making those buildings safer and more resilient — we did that years ago with sprinklers and fire protection,” he said. “We need to do the same thing today with regard to resilience to Mother Nature’s butt-kicking.”

He called it an “all-hands-on-deck effort” involving the state, local governments, and residents alike.

“It’s very important that both residents, single-family homeowners, residents of condos, and business owners understand that we all have a role to play here in making our cities and towns resilient,” Slap said. “Maybe we get to a point in the future where we have control over sea level rise and other increases in the extreme weather we’ve been facing.”