Flood Barrier USA

5 Million Americans Threatened by Rising Sea Level

Author: Donna Conneely

By now most people are aware that the sea level is rising each year, and that many coastal areas are at risk of inundation as a result. For many, the island nation of Tuvalu comes to mind, as the extreme danger faced by this country has been well publicized. In fact, Tuvalu is truly besieged by the sea, and is likely to become uninhabitable in the coming decades.

But Tuvalu will not sink alone. In the United States, almost 3,000 coastal cities and towns are also facing tidal encroachment and flooding due to rising sea level. Almost 5 million residents of these coastal communities may be affected in the coming years, as the rise in sea level is now considered unstoppable.

As has been discussed in previous posts, sea level rise is caused by many factors. As the planet warms, the ice caps and glaciers begin to melt, adding massive amounts of fresh water to the seas. This fresh water influences various weather and sea movement patterns, which helps to further increase the warming of the planet. As the sea warms, it expands, and encroaches farther and farther inland.

According to sea level rise research conducted by Climate Central, almost 5 million US residents live in areas that are no more than four feet above sea level. This means that in the event of a hurricane, storm surge, or other flooding event the entire area will most likely be underwater.

Climate Central produces a very informative — and perhaps rather alarming — website that illustrates very clearly just how much of the US coastline is at risk. The website may be found here: http://sealevel.climatecentral.org

The interactive map on the home page may be used to learn how a particular area will fare against rising sea levels in the coming years. A visitor to the site may type in a zip code or name of a town to see where sea level is projected to be in the year 2020 — just eight years from now. The results are astonishing … and horrifying for many communities. Unfortunately, many home and business owners will find their property underwater by 2020 according to these projections.

Still, it is possible to take steps in the coming years to protect some homes and businesses. Timely flood protection measures can save some addresses from destruction and the repeated flooding that will become a feature of life in the future. Now is the time to invest in flood protection — before the deluge.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 18th, 2012 at 9:22 pm 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.