To the editor: The article on record-breaking tides alongside Southern California’s coast highlights a well-recognized and expensive sample: flooding, emergency response, repairs and the specter of doing it on repeat (“SoCal coast braces for more flooding as El Niño’s high tides break records,” Oct. 29). With coastal communities already experiencing flooding and extra excessive tides anticipated within the months forward, policymakers should look past non permanent fixes and put money into lasting mitigation options that cut back future harm.
Breaking that cycle means lowering threat the place individuals dwell and, to the extent doable, avoiding it the place they rebuild. Stronger coastal infrastructure and pure flood defenses can defend present neighborhoods. Correct flood maps and trendy constructing requirements can information safer improvement. State, native and federal catastrophe funding ought to assist communities throughout Southern California make these investments now, not solely after the harm is finished.
No coverage can cease the tides. However sound insurance policies can cut back the hurt they trigger, defend households and companies and spare taxpayers the prices of rebuilding the identical vulnerabilities repeatedly.
Chris Brown, Washington
This author is govt director of SmarterSafer Coalition, which promotes environmentally accountable and fiscally sound pure catastrophe and flood threat insurance policies.
