Posted on Jul 28, 2022
These hurricane flood maps reveal the climate future for Miami, NYC and D.C.
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https://www.npr.org/2022/07/28/ [login to see] /nyc-miami-dc-climate-change-flooding
As climate change warms the planet, drives up sea levels and energizes hurricanes, the arsenal of dangerous impacts delivered by the fierce storms is expected to get supercharged.
Among the most worrisome: powerful flooding from storm surge.
Rising seas and stronger winds mean the punishing waves pushed ashore by tropical storms and hurricanes will make their way farther and farther inland. That inland march would expose a larger swath of the U.S. coast to the kind of flooding unleashed during Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and put more people at risk of drowning, the leading cause of death in hurricanes.
An NPR analysis based on modeling from the National Hurricane Center for three critical regions — New York City, Washington, D.C., and Miami-Dade County — found future sea rise alone could expose about 720,000 more people to flooding in the decades to come.
The analysis used three landmark hurricanes — Sandy, Isabel, and Irma — as benchmarks to understand how the impacts of storm surge could grow.
In all three regions, flooding from storm surge that once lingered along the coast travels miles farther inland and grows deeper. By 2080, when sea rise could reach more than three feet, flooding would engulf even more critical infrastructure, including hospitals and schools that often provide shelter.
As climate change warms the planet, drives up sea levels and energizes hurricanes, the arsenal of dangerous impacts delivered by the fierce storms is expected to get supercharged.
Among the most worrisome: powerful flooding from storm surge.
Rising seas and stronger winds mean the punishing waves pushed ashore by tropical storms and hurricanes will make their way farther and farther inland. That inland march would expose a larger swath of the U.S. coast to the kind of flooding unleashed during Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and put more people at risk of drowning, the leading cause of death in hurricanes.
An NPR analysis based on modeling from the National Hurricane Center for three critical regions — New York City, Washington, D.C., and Miami-Dade County — found future sea rise alone could expose about 720,000 more people to flooding in the decades to come.
The analysis used three landmark hurricanes — Sandy, Isabel, and Irma — as benchmarks to understand how the impacts of storm surge could grow.
In all three regions, flooding from storm surge that once lingered along the coast travels miles farther inland and grows deeper. By 2080, when sea rise could reach more than three feet, flooding would engulf even more critical infrastructure, including hospitals and schools that often provide shelter.
These hurricane flood maps reveal the climate future for Miami, NYC and D.C.
Posted from npr.org
Climate Change
Miami
New York City
Washington
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."When a powerful storm comes, "Nothing to do but sit there, and pray and wait."
A U.S. Air Force base and nuclear power plant would be among the critical facilities hit by the surge. The plant's reactors are elevated about 20 feet above sea level, but roads needed to carry diesel fuel and other supplies to a shuttered plant would be under more than nine feet of water.
Black residents in South Florida would be three times more likely to be flooded, a higher rate than the rest of the population, according to an analysis by Tampa Bay Times data editor Langston Taylor.
The tiny village of Cutler Bay would be one of the many places to bear the full brunt of the surge. Just this past June, flooding from what would become the first named storm of this year's hurricane season submerged parts of the town, including Craig Emmanuel's street.
"You went to sleep on dry land and you woke up and the streets were flooded," said Emmanuel, who nearly missed his son's fifth grade graduation. "I don't think anyone was prepared for it to be as high as it was."
In nearby Richmond Heights, where Emmanuel grew up and his parents rebuilt their house after Andrew, flooding could be between six feet and nine feet deep in just four decades. The historic black community, built after World War II for returning vets, sits more than five miles from the coast."...
..."When a powerful storm comes, "Nothing to do but sit there, and pray and wait."
A U.S. Air Force base and nuclear power plant would be among the critical facilities hit by the surge. The plant's reactors are elevated about 20 feet above sea level, but roads needed to carry diesel fuel and other supplies to a shuttered plant would be under more than nine feet of water.
Black residents in South Florida would be three times more likely to be flooded, a higher rate than the rest of the population, according to an analysis by Tampa Bay Times data editor Langston Taylor.
The tiny village of Cutler Bay would be one of the many places to bear the full brunt of the surge. Just this past June, flooding from what would become the first named storm of this year's hurricane season submerged parts of the town, including Craig Emmanuel's street.
"You went to sleep on dry land and you woke up and the streets were flooded," said Emmanuel, who nearly missed his son's fifth grade graduation. "I don't think anyone was prepared for it to be as high as it was."
In nearby Richmond Heights, where Emmanuel grew up and his parents rebuilt their house after Andrew, flooding could be between six feet and nine feet deep in just four decades. The historic black community, built after World War II for returning vets, sits more than five miles from the coast."...
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