RINewsToday.com — New sensor network makes real-time flooding, air-quality data available to Rhode Island communities

A team of Brown University researchers has launched a new network of environmental sensors that monitor flood conditions, air quality and weather data across Rhode Island. The data, collected from nearly 100 sensors statewide, are available to anyone through an online dashboard.

Woods Hole, Mass. -- A July 2025 report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) claims that U.S. tide gauge measurements “in aggregate show no obvious acceleration in sea level rise beyond the historical average rate.”

By Katie Mulvaney — Rhode Island beachfront property owner David Welch is suing the state's Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) over public access requirements for storm damage repairs. Welch argues the CRMC's requirement that he provide public access up to 10 feet inland of the high tide line is an unconstitutional taking of his property. This is Welch's second lawsuit against the state regarding beach access; the first challenged the 2023 shoreline access law and is pending before the Supreme Court.

Rhode Island, like the rest of the nation, will receive zero federal funding to restore beach sand when storms sweep it away. In recent years, the damage done has been severe. And the impact has been costly. Sometimes the bill has been in the millions.

By Cornelia Dean — The growing battle over how to manage sea level rise turns partly on a legal principle set down in Roman times.

By Matt Stout — Governor Maura Healey is resurrecting a proposal at the center of a long-running legal dispute between wealthy property owners on Martha’s Vineyard that, if passed, could redefine when a beach in Massachusetts is considered public.

By Frank Carini — When it comes to climate change and southern New England’s eroding coastline, managed retreat is an unpopular choice. But there likely will come a time, perhaps sooner than we think, when it becomes the only option.

By Kate Wilkinson — With powerful storms battering local beaches, a newly-formed commission is trying come up with solutions for the urgent problems erosion is creating for Rhode Island’s coastline.

By Antonia Noori Farzan — A blanket ban on new seawalls and rock revetments along certain parts of the coastline means that homeowners have limited ability to defend their properties against erosion. A class action lawsuit seeks to overturn that policy, which would have major implications for Rhode Island's coastline.

By Peter McGuire — A new state policy to encourage using biodegradable materials to prevent shoreline erosion is facing backlash from critics who say it risks damaging coastal properties.

By Travis Andersen — Crews began installing about 30,000 tons of sand Monday along portions of Salisbury Beach that were badly eroded by nor’easters in January and February, according to state Senator Bruce Tarr’s office.

By Alex Nunes — Kathie Florsheim wants you to understand just what’s happening to our eroding coastline. She’s not a scientist. She’s a fine art photographer who’s been photographing beaches in the region for about 50 years.

By Alex Nunez — As rising seas and stronger storms, due at least in part to climate change, are carrying off tons of sand from Rhode Island beaches, a legislative commission tasked with developing ways to slow beach erosion met at the State House for the first time on Monday.

By Sammy Fretwell — About eight years ago, with then-state Rep. Stephen Goldfinch seeking election to the S.C. Senate, a wealthy property owner agreed to hold a fund-raising reception in a grand beach house along Georgetown County’s eroding seashore.

CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell — Hurricane season is nowhere near over, but already several storms have caused significant damage along the Eastern Seaboard. Taxpayers are paying a stiff price to protect high-end coastal communities from these powerful storms. Stephen Stock explains.

By Elizabeth Turley, Erica Ricci — Narragansett is home to several of Rhode Island’s most picturesque beaches, but residents say a series of winter storms left their coastal homes severely damaged.

By Xander Peters — In the wake of Hurricane Ike, engineers have been crafting a $34 billion plan to protect the city. Will it work when the next disaster arrives?

By Olivia Ebertz — As structures like the carousel and snack bar building are being demolished at Easton’s Beach, city officials are grappling with how to save an eroding beach.

By Luis Hernandez — Beach erosion and extreme flooding are forcing South Coast officials to think more urgently about how to adapt to a rise in sea levels. New Bedford Light reporter Adam Goldstein joins Morning Edition host Luis Hernandez to discuss the many options under consideration.

By Luis Hernandez — “Can we renourish the beaches? Can we find a way to put back what’s been taken away over the years?” We talk with the city’s public services director about the ways Newport is grappling with the ongoing threat of coastal erosion.