A recent study published in the science journal Nature says parts of Beaufort will see chronic flooding as the result of rising seas over the next several decades to come, and maybe even sooner than we may think.
The steady rise in global surface temperatures, monitored since the 1880s, is largely attributed to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. With rising temperatures, the world’s ice has been melting and the sea level rising. As a result, barring major interventions, sooner or later thousands of coastal communities around the world will become uninhabitable.
Parts of both Northern and Southern Beaufort County are at a very high risk, particularly St. Helena Island and Hilton Head Island.
The assessment found that Antarctica is melting at triple the rate it did in 2007 and previous projections may have underestimated the continent’s slow disappearance.
According to a 2017 study, if rising carbon emissions and ice sheet loss continue at their current rate, global sea levels could rise by an estimated 8 feet by the year 2100. And if, in the even more distant future, all of the Antarctic ice sheet — which comprises the vast majority of Earth’s freshwater supply — melts, sea levels would rise by approximately 200 feet.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed data modeled by environmental watchdog group the Union of Concerned Scientists, which identified U.S. coastal communities expected to face chronic and disruptive flooding before the end of the century — defined as having 10% or more of livable land area flooded at least 26 times per year.
Across the U.S., coastal cities within the next 30 years, more than 300,000 homes worth a combined $117.5 billion are likely to be at risk of chronic tidal flooding, according to UCS analysis and projections.
They reviewed the coastal communities in which at least 10% of livable area is expected to experience chronic flooding by 2060. Places are ranked by the number of residents that live in parts of the community expected to be under water by 2060.
St. Helena Island was on the list, and so was Hilton Head.
Based on the study, an estimated 27.3% of the livable land on St. Helena Island could experience chronic flooding or be underwater by the year 2060 and a whopping 59% by the year 2100. St. Helena is only 47 square miles in size.
Hilton Head fared worse with an estimated 25.6% of livable land on the island either experiencing chronic flooding or underwater by 2060 and 57.6% by the year 2100.
If accurate, this is not good news.
Change on such a large scale is incremental and can seem quite distant. Still, any large scale solution to the problem would need to be implemented relatively soon. Already, for many areas, flooding is inevitable and the problem is imminent. According to NOAA scientists, high tide flooding across U.S. coastlines this year may surpass what was typical flooding 20 years ago by as much as 60%.
Other cities at high risk are St. Simons Island, GA, Mount Pleasant, SC, Miami, FL, the entire Florida Keys, Johns Island, SC, Waccamaw Neck, SC, Tybee Island, GA and Wilmington Island, GA as well as Ocean City, Atlantic City and Hoboken, NJ.
Cities and institutions can mitigate flood damage by implementing wetlands, levees, and other mechanisms, and many of the cities on this list have done so. It’s important to note that the estimates published by the UCS do not take into account the mitigating effects of such mechanisms.
Read all of the data on St. Helena Island and Hilton Head in the original article at 24/7 Wall St.
