• Identified key natural hazards for several properties
• Determined qualitative and financial risk metrics
• Developed a multi-tier system for levels of vulnerability assessments
• Provided reports on a quick turnaround under property due diligence period time constraints
Challenge
Marinas rely on their waterfront location, making them particularly vulnerable to coastal hazards such as flooding and waves. A confidential client owns numerous marinas throughout the United States and is actively and quickly acquiring new marina properties. GZA was contracted to assess vulnerability at several existing marinas, as well as assess marinas actively being acquired as part of the client’s due diligence process.
Solution
GZA offered several solutions to the client by developing a tiered marina vulnerability assessment system The tiered system includes the Property Resilience Screen (PRS) and Property Resilience Assessment (PRA). The PRS and PRA initially focused on coastal hazards. As the client requested assessments in varying locations, GZA adapted the assessments to include all the natural hazards in ASTM E3429-24 Standard Guide for Property Resilience Assessments. The PRS and PRA now align with Stage 1 and 2 of the ASTM guidance, respectively.
GZA has performed a PRS for marinas in Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and California. The PRS was developed to provide the client with a quick-turnaround understanding of the risks associated with key natural hazards at each Site based on review of publicly available data. The PRS is a useful tool in terms of aiding the client in due diligence decision making.
GZA has performed a PVA for marinas in Rhode Island and California. The PVA was developed to advance upon the information provided in the PRS, providing a more in depth analysis of the risks associated with the natural hazards deemed to impact a site. In the PVA, GZA quantified damage and financial impacts associated with natural hazards at each site and provided risk metrics for the client to characterize risk.
Benefit
GZA continues to provide the client with useful risk analyses for sites across the United States. GZA has expanded and adapted its marina vulnerability services to meet the needs of the client, based on site location, ease of use for the reader, accelerated turnaround times for deliverables, etc. This has allowed the client to use risk adversity in their due diligence decision making, as well as prioritize sites that require resilience improvements.