Core principles
- Source first: metrics should trace to an authoritative source.
- Resolution matters: a regional dataset is not automatically valid for a parcel-level conclusion.
- Screening, not diagnosis: public data and checklists do not replace engineering, surveying, insurance underwriting or permit determinations.
- Freshness is visible: automated data shows its refresh time.
- No fake precision: where a range or classification is more defensible than a precise number, we use the range.
Live data
A scheduled GitHub Action retrieves NOAA station metadata and finds the nearest active Texas water-level station for each supported coastal community. It then requests the latest observed water level and high/low tide predictions. NWS active alerts are filtered to coastal, flood and tropical products. USACE notices are surfaced as a research feed.
Coastal Property Risk
The future address-level score will only include risk components for which a defensible spatial join can be made. Each component will retain its source, date and geographic resolution. The score is intended as an educational screening index, not a structural, insurance or investment determination.
Update cadence
Live conditions refresh on a scheduled workflow. Evergreen guidance is revised when source rules, datasets or material best-practice information changes. Automated fact refreshes do not trigger meaningless AI rewrites of static articles.