Rising seas fueled by climate change to swamp $34B in US real estate in just 30 years, analysis finds

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A new report concludes that rising sea levels could flood all or parts of an estimated $34 billion worth of real estate along the nation's coast within 30 years.

As many as 64,000 buildings and 637,000 properties along the ocean and its connecting waterways could be at least partially below the tidal boundary level within a 30-year mortgage, according to a report released Thursday morning.

The seas are expected to rise from 8 inches to 23 inches along the nation's coast by the year 2050. Flood events are going to get worse as the oceans rise due to the fact that every inch of additional water is going to move farther inland.

Don Bain, an engineer and Climate Central senior adviser, said tax dollars flowing into local governments will sink as rising water claims homes and land.

If the world is able to rein in warming temperatures, the losses could triple by the year 2200.

Property boundaries and elevation were looked at by the nonprofit. Here's what it came up with.

The water is underwater.

Most of the properties could be completely below the high tide lines by the year 2050.

A lot of buildings could be submerged by the end of the century. It is possible that the value of buildings and properties below the high water level could rise to $108 billion.

The parishes are under pressure.

The impact of rising sea levels will be felt in low-lying Louisiana. According to the analysis, 8.7% of the state's land area could be below water level by the year 2020.

The top 20 counties and parishes for the most acres potentially below water level by the year 2050 are: The land in Terrebonne, LaFourche, St. Charles, St. Mary, St. Bernard and St. John the Baptist could be below water by then.

It matters whether or not the elevation is high or low.

There are counties in five other states.

Hudson County, across the Hudson River from Manhattan, has more than 15% of its land below the predicted higher water levels. It has the highest estimated value of land and buildings at risk in the country.

Also among the top 20 counties with the most acres predicted below water level by 2050 are:

• Middlesex, along the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia
• Monroe, home of the Florida Keys
• Jefferson, Texas, on the northern Gulf coast at Beaumont
• Dare, Tyrell and Currituck counties along North Carolina's Outer Banks and Albemarle Sound

Among the counties with the greatest property values at stake are:

• Galveston, Texas, $2.4 billion
• Honolulu, Hawaii, $2.3 billion
• Washington, DC, $1.4 billion
• Miami-Dade, Florida, $1.3 billion

The land is losing it's value.

The report estimated that as much as four million acres could fall below the shoreline boundaries that mark the line between private and public land by century's end. The majority of the land will be in Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina and Texas.

Bain said that the land would be taken by the rising seas. No one is talking about that.

The land within each property could fall below the relevant tidal boundary if the seas rise.

The exposed tax-assessed value for properties that could be newly affected by higher water was calculated and the value of each property was divided by the forecast fraction to arrive at the exposed tax-assessed value. When any of the buildings is below the line, they used an entire building's value.

A.R. Siders is an assistant professor at the University of Delaware. It's not sustainable for a town to rely solely on property tax values.

Business that is risky.

Climate Central is working to better define the nation'sclimate risk.

Bain said it's important to balance sheets for governments, individuals and corporations because of the need for such information.

Mark said that climate change impacts are real. The business world is being affected by them.

How many mortgage lenders want to lend in flood-prone areas if they don't think they'll be paid back?

There are many insurance carriers who have stopped doing business in Florida. It's important for local governments to get support from state and federal governments.

It's not scary to inspire.

Bain said that the report's conclusions aren't meant to make people feel bad. He wants them to give people information to influence outcomes and encourage officials at all levels of government to adopt needed laws and regulations.

Bain said he was not too late to make course changes. The choice is between better outcomes and bad outcomes.

Bain said it was important to inform people about what they were facing so they could do the rest. We can have a bright and prosperous future if we put our minds and shoulders to it and are well informed.

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