Flood Barrier USA

Extreme Flood Risk for 5 Million Americans

Author: Flood Expert Donna Conneely

There are almost 5 million Americans living in coastal properties that will be at very high risk for extreme floods in the near future. The so-called “100-year flood” events will become so frequent that the bar will need to be raised much higher for the label to be appropriate. What was once a 100-year flood may soon become an annual event.

By 2030: The percentage of extreme coastal floods in at-risk cities throughout America due to global warming. Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

The problem is caused by rising sea levels, which is now considered to be an unstoppable phenomenon. The polar caps are melting very rapidly, and have reached the point where further melting is inevitable. All this newly melted fresh water has far-reaching consequences, going way beyond simply raising the water levels, as the influx of warmer and fresher water influences climate patterns, currents, and air movements.

The process of global warming causes ocean water to expand, thereby raising water levels, influencing currents and wind patterns, and setting in motion processes that speed up the warming of the planet. It is a circular set of inter-related actions that is beginning to spin at ever increasing speeds. For example, the increase in world sea levels since the year 1880 was about 8 inches, but the predicted increase for the coming century is between 3-7 feet.

In low-lying states like Florida, properties worth many billions of dollars are thought to be at extreme risk from rising sea levels and the more intense storms that will be the result of melting polar caps and climate change. Properties that have been considered well-protected from floods may soon be devastated by floods and storms that are suddenly off the scale of anything we have seen in the past. Some areas that are currently densely populated may have to be abandoned altogether, while others that have been relatively safe until now will suddenly find themselves on the front lines of flood defense.

Many parts of California are expected to encounter flooding — even in areas that have never before flooded. This exposure will be particularly destructive, because these regions have not yet installed any flood protection measures. Naturally, it is much more expensive to beef up flood barriers after a flood has destroyed the property, so business owners on both coasts may be well-advised to work on a flood protection plan now, before the deluge.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 9th, 2012 at 11:02 am and is filed under Flood Protection. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.