Publication Date August 3, 2022 | Climate Nexus Hot News

Coastal flooding on the rise as sea levels climb, finds NOAA

A flooded street in Miami Beach, Fla. So-called sunny-day flooding is happening more often. (Credit: Lynne Sladky/AP)
A flooded street in Miami Beach, Fla. So-called sunny-day flooding is happening more often. (Credit: Lynne Sladky/AP)

A new report from government researchers says high tide flooding along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts is likely to worsen, reaching a nationwide average of three to seven days by April 2023 and 45 to 70 days per year by 2050 (see report). High tides driven by rising seas flooded coastal areas more than 500 times over the past year, according to the report, and high tide coastal flooding along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts now occurs twice as frequently as it did in 2000. "The East and Gulf coasts already experience twice as many days of high tide flooding compared to the year 2000, flooding shorelines, streets and basements and damaging critical infrastructure," Nicole LeBoeuf, director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service, said in a release.

(CBS NewsThe HillWall Street Journal $, E&E $)

(Climate Signals background: Sea Level Rise, Coastal Flooding Increase)

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