Unequal Waters: Flood Risk and Indigenous Coping Capacity in Coastal Virginia

Here we investigate coping capacity of indigenous communities in Coastal Virginia by creating a Coping Capacity Index. Indigenous communities, including those along the East Coast of the United States, face increased vulnerability to flooding due to a combination of socio-economic, environmental, and historical factors. These findings provide insights towards implementing both larger policy solutions and local community-based flood hazard mitigation strategies to improve resiliency in coastal Virginia, while simultaneously establishing a structure for similar assessments in other regions.