Posted on behalf of ClimateCentral.org

$4.3 billion of RI property at risk for coastal flooding

Climate Central has released a sea-level rise and coastal flood risk tool for Rhode Island and other coastal New England states.  The organization’s research in this area was recently highlighted at the launch of The White House’s Climate Data Initiative.  The tool is available here: http://sealevel.climatecentral.org/ssrf/rhode-island/

According to the tool’s analysis, an extreme flood – 5 feet above the high tide line – is becoming a greater risk to cities throughout Rhode Island as sea levels rise due to climate change. (In 2012, Hurricane Sandy reached 4.21 feet above the high tide line at the Newport monitoring station.)

A snapshot of what this means for Rhode Island:

• More than $4.3 billion worth of property lies on land less than five feet above the high tide line. This includes $714 million worth of property in Westerly and $645 million worth of property in Newport.
• 8,204 people reside on land less than five feet above the high tide line.

“In the lifetime of a new home mortgage, residents along the coast of New England will see a greater likelihood of flooding due to sea level rise,” according to Dr. Benjamin Strauss, vice president for Climate Impacts and director of the Program on Sea Level Rise. Based on Climate Central’s sea-level rise tool, there is a 1 in 3 chance of a flood this high by 2040 in Newport.

The web tool analyzes risk from 1-10 feet above high tide, from zip code to state level, and covers more than 100 demographic, economic, infrastructure and environmental variables using data drawn mainly from federal sources, including NOAA, USGS, FEMA, DOT, DOE, DOI, EPA, FCC and the Census.

Climate Central has also released the sea-level rise tool for New Jersey, New York and Florida. All U.S. coastal states including Hawaii and Alaska will roll-out in 2014.