Coastal Flooding Rising With Sea Levels, NOAA Reports

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.

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.

As reported by CBS News:

Experts often talk about the rise in so-called “sunny day flooding” or “king tide flooding,” which is flooding when there aren’t any storms around.

The reason that is increasing is the rise of the sea level. As water levels continue to go up, we are steadily seeing more frequent flooding at the coast.

Nationally, the northeast is seeing some of the highest impact from this change.

For a deeper dive:

CBS News, The Hill, The Wall Street Journal, E&E
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