Making Coastal Communities More Resilient to Extreme Weather

Forty percent of the U.S. population lives in coastal communities exposed to flooding, severe hurricanes, and heavy rainfall events. These natural hazards are costly and will be even more so in the future. Hurricane Sandy caused more than $50 million in damages in 2012. In the next 40 years, New Orleans, New York, and Miami alone stand to face some $20 trillion in flood losses.

Joshua Saks, legislative director of the National Wildlife Federation, looks at how America's communities can be protected and made more resilient in an era of extreme weather.