Recap: Strengthening Coastal Communities: Resilience and Preparedness Through Regional Partnerships

In a recent webinar, Jennifer Gilbert, CFM,  Resilience Project Manager for the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services’ Coastal Program, shared lessons from two initiatives designed to help coastal communities prepare for flooding and streamline disaster recovery.

Jennifer described how New Hampshire’s 17 coastal communities face outsized flood risk despite the state’s short coastline. Nearly 40% of New Hampshire’s NFIP policies are concentrated in these towns, which contend with riverine flooding, coastal storms, sea level rise, and frequent high-tide flooding. The Flood Smart Seacoast initiative launched in 2021 to address the local government’s critical needs. The project focused on regional coordination, floodplain management outreach, and hands-on technical assistance. T, helping three communities adopt higher floodplain standards, including the Town of Hampton.. A targeted pilot in Hampton also translated vulnerability data and community engagement into action, enabling the town to submit multiple FEMA mitigation applications despite having no prior grant experience.

Building on that foundation, Jennifer shared how the PREPARE initiative was kicked off to address post-disaster recovery readiness, with an emphasis on equity. Through regional assessments and stakeholder engagement, the project identified a major gap: while communities plan extensively for mitigation and response, few are prepared for recovery. PREPARE is now developing a regional flood recovery action plan and practical tools, like substantial damage management templates and tabletop exercises, to help communities practice recovery before the next flood occurs.

Jennifer’s message resonated across jurisdictions: capacity, not commitment, is often the limiting factor, but sustained coordination, technical support, and proactive planning can significantly improve outcomes - helping to make communities more resilient, more equitable, and better prepared when flooding returns.

The presentation slides can be viewed here, and the webinar recording can be watched below:

Want to build on the insights from the webinar? Forerunner helps communities proactively address flood risk by streamlining workflows, coordinating reporting, and engaging residents. By centralizing floodplain records, Forerunner enables communities to meet regulatory requirements and enhance reporting capabilities. Request a demo or reach out to hello@withforerunner.com - we’d love to connect.