One of the most important decisions you will make is where to locate your home on your property. Here are some general guidelines.

Whether on the mainland or a barrier island, choose a site as far from the water and with as high an elevation as possible. At a minimum, your home should be built behind the first line of dunes, as these provide some protection from waves and tides, especially during storms. Avoid sites where dunes have been removed, leveled, lowered or have little or no vegetation.

Other areas to avoid include sites along inlets and channels, at the edges of barrier islands, near notches in the dunes or along straight roads leading to the water - all of these face a higher risk of damage during a storm, as they provide natural channels for water as it washes over the land.

Don’t build in areas where evidence of erosion is visible, such as where buildings have obviously been relocated, where tides run under existing structures, where roads are washed out, or where there are remnants of seawalls or other shoreline stabilization.

Remember that hard stabilization structures such as seawalls, bulkheads, revetments, groins and jetties may limit erosion during moderate storms, but over the long term they can actually place your property at higher risk of damage. Don’t rely on these structures to protect your home; rather build the structure so that it can withstand the forces of nature on its own terms.

Choose a site as far from the water and with as high an elevation as possible.

If possible, select a lot above the 100-year flood level, and avoid vulnerable
A-Zone (coastal flood hazard) or V-Zone (velocity or coastal high hazard zone) areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Finally, keep in mind the need to evacuate during a storm. Know the available evacuation routes, how long evacuation currently takes, how population growth will impact that time, where local storm shelters are and whether existing bridges and access roads will likely flood during a storm.