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This paper examines selected case studies of nonstructural adaptation strategies implemented in response to flood-related disasters in Mississippi and Louisiana, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and along the East Coast of the United States. It summarizes lessons learned and best practices for implementing selected strategies in vulnerable communities. The goal of this white paper is to inform the policy and advocacy discussion about how best to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change impacts.

Key findings include:

• Vulnerable communities in the Gulf Coast, whether socially, physically, economically, or otherwise, tend to be less politically enfranchised. These communities tend to live in more vulnerable locations - such as in floodplains and along coastal wetlands and inland waterways - than their wealthier counterparts. Collectively, these factors may dramatically decrease the resilience of these communities.
• Federal agencies and state and local governments are increasingly turning to nonstructural measures and strategies. These strategies support mechanisms for adaptation that are flexible, that operate on a range of levels from the individual homeowner to entire communities, and that provide protection in vulnerable areas.
• Unless these programs and funding opportunities are designed to reach socially vulnerable communities, these communities will lack the knowledge, financial resources, and legal, technical, and social support necessary to seek and apply for funding to reduce their overall risk.
• Non-physical, nonstructural adaptation strategies include identifying areas of risk, pre-disaster planning and risk mitigation, developing post-disaster recovery strategies, implementing floodplain regulations and obtaining flood insurance, implementing land use regulations or zoning ordinances, and educating the public about the risk from natural hazards.
• Physical, nonstructural adaptation strategies inclusive flood-proofing homes through elevation and relocating homeowners to less vulnerable locations by compensating them for their property.