Sea Level Rise Will Worsen Coastal Flooding in Coming Decades: NOAA

"A new report shows how vulnerable U.S. coastal areas are to rising seas, with some flooding daily by 2100. San Francisco faces a double whammy: it's also sinking."

"Coastal communities should expect much more frequent flooding in coming decades as sea levels rise, according to a new federal report. Many places that are dry now could flood every day by the end of the century.

The report, published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, projects the impact of sea level rise on coastal flooding along the nation's shorelines and says it's already having an effect, particularly on the East Coast. In the Southeast, the average number of days with high-tide floods has more than doubled since 2000, to three per year, while the number in the Northeast has increased by about 75 percent, to six per year.

"We're seeing an accelerated increase up and down most of the Atlantic Seaboard," said William V. Sweet, an oceanographer at NOAA and the lead author of the report. "That's not a good place to be, because impacts are going to become chronic rather quickly.""

Nicholas Kusnetz reports for InsideClimate News March 7, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"More of the Bay Area Could Be Underwater in 2100 Than Previously Expected" (New York Times)

"Attack of the Extreme Floods" (Nature)

"New Report Predicts Rising Tides, More Flooding" (NPR)

"Will Miami Beach’s Anti-Flooding Measures Work? The City’s Getting An Outside Opinion." (Miami Herald)

"Sea Level Rise in the SF Bay Area Just Got a Lot More Dire" (Wired)