Protecting the state’s coast has taken on greater urgency as threats from climate change become real—and expensive. The University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Center is offering a free online tool that will help community planners prepare for sea-level rise, flooding and other climate-related challenges for coastal communities.

Providing Resilience Education for Planning in Rhode Island, or PREP-RI, offers guidelines about how to protect the coast in a self-guided, six-lecture program that looks at issues such as climate change, flooding, the impact on infrastructure, mapping tools, stormwater and adaptation.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with the region’s best minds on this topic,” says project manager Pamela Rubinoff, M.M.A. ’90. “Publishing their knowledge to benefit the entire state has made our efforts all the more worthwhile.”

The Rhode Island General Assembly funded the project. “Rhode Island must be more proactive in planning for flooding and sea rise,” says Rhode Island State Rep. Lauren Carson, M.B.A. ’91, M.A. ’08, D-Newport, who spearheaded the effort to fund the program. “The devastating toll of human loss and suffering in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico must remind us of the high stakes involved.” •