Coastal Flooding On The Rise

5/28/2019 (Permalink)

Many homeowners dream of waterfront property, the smell of salty sea air and to be greeted by the ocean when the wake up every morning.  As idyllic as it may sound there is another side to living on the coast. During 2018 coastal communities experienced record number of high tide flooding.  Sidewalks and streets were frequently flooded mainly due to El Nino conditions.  The projected increase in high tide flooding in 2018 may be as much as 60 percent higher across U.S. coastlines as compared to typical flooding about 20 years ago, according to NOAA scientists. These predictions are part of NOAA’s 2017 State of High Tide Flooding and 2018 Outlook, a report produced by NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services every year since 2014.

The report finds that during the 2017 meteorological year (May 2017-April 2018), the U.S. average number of high tide flooding days was the highest measured at 98 NOAA tide gauges.  More than a quarter of the coastal locations tied or broke their individual records for high tide flood days.

The top five cities that saw the highest number of flood days across the U.S. and broke records include Boston; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Sandy Hook, New Jersey; Sabine Pass, Texas; and Galveston, Texas.  These cities faced the brunt of an active nor’easter and hurricane seasons and sea level rise, which has made these and other less extreme events more impactful.

SERVPRO of Framingham specializes in Water Remediation, if you ever experience a flood or water damage call us 24/7 508-370-4400.