HURRICANE MATTHEW DISASTER RECOVERY RESILIENCE INITIATIVE

Hurricane Matthew was a category five hurricane that formed in the Atlantic Ocean in September 2016. The Hurricane Matthew Disaster Recovery and Resilience Initiative was a program that focused on six focus communities that were affected by the hurricane. The project was led by the University of North Carolina, including both faculty and students to address the community and state needs to recover from the hurricane, and funded by the state of North Carolina, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate and the Flood Apex program. Over the course of 18 months the project produced Homeplace booklets on each community including design standards to rebuild or retrofit homes. These freely accessible booklets were the product of North Carolina State University’s Design Lab through studio courses. Additionally, the initiative produced reports for downtown flooding revitalization projects, land suitability analyses and market analyses. The project worked to address vulnerabilities that FEMA and state governments normally do not take into account by increasing resilience by building local capacities, facilitating collaboration between the universities, local and state governments and residents. The initiative highlighted community engagement in identifying local vernacular housing types, houses that might be salvaged, and homes that would need to be rebuilt elsewhere. In addition to architectural proposals, the initiative included planning for a greenway design that linked to existing open spaces and communities, with connections made to community amenities, including disaster memorials. As part of the disaster recovery, buyouts were planned in each community, and the initiative emphasized the challenges associated with losing a tax base when managed retreat occurs in small communities. 2017
52 acres
0 - 171 feet above sea level