Scuttlebutt brought up a recent story in the New York Times discussing coastal flooding around American coastal communities. The Times report links flooding to greenhouse gases from human activity, which is not news to anyone. But the rate at which the ocean levels are rising is happening on an unprecedented rate: the rate of increase has grown sharply over the last century, and is rising faster than at any point in the last 28 centuries. Scientists have also confirmed that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at this rate, "the ocean could rise as much as three or four feet by 2100."
--Photos courtesy of the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management's Facebook page. Taken Thursday, February 25.
Addressing the senate, Benjamin H. Strauss, one of the co-authors of the study the Times looks into, stated that even a few inches could spell disaster. "Just a few extra inches could mean the difference to flood a family’s basement — or New York City’s subway system, disabling it for months. You might think of it this way: raising the floor of a basketball court would mean a lot more dunks."
This could force us to redraw the map of the United States. "The high end of projections for this century would be enough to turn Miami-Dade County, FL, into a collection of islands. But in the near term, we will mainly experience sea level rise as more and more coastal floods, reaching higher and higher."
Strauss studied 55 sites around the country for flood risk, and found that storm surges on top of sea level rise threaten to push water levels more than four feet above high tide lines by as early as 2030. This spells disaster for an incredible amount of infrastructure.
The timing of the report is relevant, as the city of Annapolis is currently experiencing flooding after two days of heavy rain. "Compromise Street (City Dock area) is closed in both directions due to flooding," wrote the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management. "Use alternate routes."
