Hull or High Water - When climate change hits home

Hull Massachusetts is a tiny beautiful beachfront community in a continuous battle against nature. The town sits on a low lying skinny peninsula prone to flooding from hide tides and storms. When the town floods, homes are damaged, residents can be cut off from the mainland, and emergency services lose access to parts of the town. 

Everyone agrees this is a problem. And yet local government and citizen action groups sometimes disagree about what to do about it. 

Chris Krahforst, the town’s director of climate adaptation and conservation, does his best to keep Hull’s beaches intact and advocate for residents to learn about climate change and adapt or prepare.

Liz Kay, a resident, organizes outreach programs and is active on a few community citizen action groups dedicated to disseminating information about flooding, climate change, and what to do about it (or not). 

Bartley Kelly, the town’s building commissioner and elected chairman of the redevelopment authority, thinks the town should continue to build to revitalize the economy – and remains skeptical about sea level rise and climate change.

Bryan Fenelon, a born and raised resident of Hull, thinks something ought to be done quickly, without so much red tape. 

To read more about flooding in Massachusetts, with maps, charts, and more, check out The Boston Globe's flooding package here.

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