The CHORUS project tackles the disconnect between advanced climate modeling and the ability of communities to use that data in resilience planning and decision-making. To bridge this gap, we're developing a cutting-edge AI-powered web tool that emulates physics-based models of compound coastal flooding. This technology enables localized flood forecasting that helps communities not only visualize, but plan for flooding by running their own “what-if” scenarios and testing interventions—such as nature-based solutions, storm drains, or seawalls—in real time. Community partners will co-design the tool alongside technical experts and flood practitioners, helping to identify local assets and establish residents’ preferences among possible flood interventions.

To help ensure the tool can serve different types of communities, we are piloting this approach in two locations: Pin Point, Georgia and Jamaica Bay, New York. In Georgia, the CEAR Hub has partnered with the Pin Point Betterment Association as well as faculty in Georgia Tech's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society at MIT. In New York, the New York Climate Exchange is collaborating with the Waterfront Alliance, in collaboration with New York Sea Grant and the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay (SRIJB). By working with these partners from the outset of this project, we are ensuring that the tool is useful, accessible, and builds on community-based and cross-sector collaboration.