If you live near the coast, your home could be under water in the foreseeable future, and certainly by 2100. Last month Zillow, the prominent real estate and rental marketplace, issued a news analysis that showed rising sea levels that were directly caused by climate change. Zillow’s projections claimed rising seas could put 2 million homes underwater. The top 3 states expected to lose the most homes are Florida, New Jersey and New York. In Florida, almost 1 million homes are at risk and whose total value is estimated at $412.6 billion. In New Jersey, especially around Cape May area, 190,429 homes are at risk, valued at $93.1 billion. On Long Island in New York 96,708 homes could very well see the Atlantic ocean inside instead of outside whose value is worth $71 billion.
Zillow used data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that revealed which homes would be affected by the predicted six-foot rise in ocean levels. Research recently published in Nature found that sea levels could rise six feet by 2100, nearly twice as high as previous expected.
Seven other states were listed as part of Zillow’s top 11 states whose homes would be at risk: Massachusetts (Cape Cod), California (Long Beach), South Carolina (Folly Beach), North Carolina, (Sunset Beach), Maryland (Ocean City Beach), Virginia (Virginia Beach). The New Orleans Times Picayune has reported that most of New Orleans will be submerged by 2100 regardless of global efforts to lessen carbon emissions.
More than half of all homes that would be lost are in Florida, and they account for nearly half of the lost housing value as well. In all, one in eight Florida homes would be lost. More than 9 percent of homes in Hawaii would be underwater; 81 percent of those are in the capital city of Honolulu. Thirty-six coastal cities would be entirely underwater, and nearly 300 cities would lose at least half their homes
Nature.com has a brief analysis of population size vulnerable to SLR where calculated . They state that “2100 SLR of 3 feet places a land area projected to house 4.2 million people at risk of inundation, whereas 6 feet affects 13.1 million people—approximately two times larger than indicated by current populations.”
These latest figures are alarming, to say the least. They are raising many red flags for homeowners, elected officials and candidates and many are starting to take action. ClimateYou will be following this issue closely. Stay tuned.
