In recent years, sea levels have risen tremendously, putting coastal cities at risk of high tide flooding. However, the tame Pacific has spared California the costly damage that many East Coast communities face. 

For North Carolina, tidal flooding is a common occurrence. In 2018, Wilmington broke a record for days with high-tide flooding by reaching 14 flood days, according to a study published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Although floods are a minor nuisance for many people, it leaves multiple hurricane-prone cities vulnerable. 

In New York, flooding is inevitable due to the fact that New York City is built on three islands: Manhattan Island, Long Island, and Staten Island. During the year 2012, floods surged across the Hudson and East River, creating catastrophic damage to subways and roads, a Bloomberg report revealed. Disastrous flooding similar to what Hurricane Sandy triggered could recur. Brooklyn and Manhattan are “30% and 80% more likely than the population as a whole to be flooded at the level” of Hurricane Sandy, concluded Climate Central’s assessment for sea-level rise and coastal flood risk. 

So far California’s coast has been relatively untouched by the surging waves. As the LA Times puts it, “lines in the sand are meant to shift.” California’s main concern has always been wildfires and earthquakes. But, with glaciers disappearing and the Earth warming, that will change. “For every foot of global sea-level rise caused by the loss of ice in West Antarctica, sea-level will rise approximately 1.25 feet along the California coast,” said the study published by the California Ocean Protection Council. 

With every tide and storm, the looming danger of the rising sea threatens coastal real estate and means of transportation. Local governments have been racing against the clock to put precautionary measures in place. In 2017, Balboa Island spent $1.8 million to add an extra 9 inches to the mile and a half sea wall.  

Across many Southern California counties, homeowners scramble to protect their properties by pleading their case with local authorities. However, some have decided to take matters into their own hands. According to the LA Times, previous owners of a Laguna Beach home built an “11-foot-tall, 80-foot-long seawall” around their multi-million dollar property. Due to major repercussions seawalls have on beaches, an Orange County judge ordered the current owners to “remove the seawall within 60 days and pay the $1 million penalty.”

Only so much can be done to stop the rising sea. Although seawalls are an adequate solution, they come with dire ramifications. The longer a seawall stands, the more sand a beach loses. Gradually, beaches will start to vanish. With this, access to beaches would be only granted to property owners and people who are willing to pay a fee, according to Beachapedia. While beachfront properties would be protected, a concrete wall will eventually replace public beaches.    

Photo courtesy of LATIMES.COM