Dataset for 'The value of US coral reefs for flood risk reduction', by Reguero et al (2021).

Dataset: Flood risk reduction benefits of US coral reefs — building damage estimates aggregated by hexagonal grid This dataset accompanies the publication Reguero et al. (2021) The value of US coral reefs for flood risk reduction. Please cite as Reguero, B., C. D. Storlazzi, A. E. Gibbs, J. B. Shope, A. D. Cole, K. A. Cumming, M. W. Beck. 2021. The Value of U.S. Coral Reefs for Flood Risk Reduction. Nature Sustainability 4:688-698 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00706-6 The data provide spatially explicit estimates of the flood risk reduction services of coral reefs along approximately 3,100 km of the U.S. coastline. Flood hazard was modeled across storm return periods and translated into building damages using depth-damage functions applied to structure inventories. The dataset includes: Annual expected damages (AED) to different building types (residential, commercial, and other structure classes) under two scenarios: current reef conditions and the loss of the top 1 m of coral structure. Annual expected benefits (AEB), representing flood damage avoided by the presence of reefs (difference between scenarios). Total benefits calculated from each flood hazard zone (with vs. without reef). Results are presented in a hexagonal grid (edge length = 25 m), which supports spatial analysis and visualization at scales ranging from local to national. Damages were computed from 10 m x 10 m resolution flood maps using the FEMA National Structure Inventory. The flood maps are available at: https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20191027. Regional summaries are available at: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/pcmsc/value-us-coral-reefs-risk-reduction. These data can support reef conservation prioritization, benefit-cost analyses of nature-based flood mitigation, and equity assessments of reef protection across coastal communities. Other specifications: All monetary values are in 2010 USD, according to the 2010 US Census and as reported in Reguero et al. (2021). We recommend adjusting to current USD values before use. ALL_D represents the total damage (or benefit) across all asset types. AGR, COM, IND, REL, and RES represent typologies of buildings, while POP represents population values, following conventions from the Hazus 6.0 Inventory Technical Manual (FEMA) - https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_hazus-6-inventory-technical-manual.pdf The extension '_D' corresponds to economic damages (in US$); whereas '_B' corresponds to the number of buildings (count).