Within Decades, Rising Tides Could Wipe Out California's Most Expensive Cities
NEWPORT BEACH (CBSLA) — A group of scientists say seaside communities are at risk of being wiped out by floods and rising tides within three decades.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, its analysis of U.S. homes at risk from chronic flooding over the flooding is particularly acute for Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Newport.
By 2045, the group says 20,472 California homes – worth a collective $15 billion -- are at risk of becoming chronically flooded. By 2100, that number skyrockets to nearly 110,000 homes, worth a collective $75 billion.
That flooding would not come from rain, but from the rising seas. Chronic flooding was identified as high-tide flooding that happens 26 or more times a year.
Researchers say the frequency of so-called "Sunny Day Floods," where king tides roll in and flood low-lying cities, has doubled or even tripled in the last few decades.
The group also noted that Florida, the Carolinas and the Jersey Shore could similarly lose thousands of homes due to rising sea levels over the next few decades.
