![Will Your City be Underwater? There’s a Map for That
A new report shows accelerated sea level rise from global warming has doubled the risk of extreme flooding events in many coastal communities.
Ben Strauss of Climate Central explained what this means for New York City:
“[Sea level rise] raises the launching pad for coastal storms. And Manhattan is very vulnerable to coastal storms. New York Harbor is shaped a little like a funnel. So, if a hurricane hits at the wrong angle, there’s already the possibility of a storm surge that would leap into Lower Manhattan and fill the subway system, much of which is already below sea level, and disable it.”
In other words: under normal circumstances, these coastal communities would be fine. But if a severe weather event were to hit, they’d be in big, big trouble.
Strauss also put it this way: ”If you were to raise the floor of a basketball court, you would see a lot more dunks. And sea level rise is raising the floor that storms launch from.”
Watch the full interview here:
-KC](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0xtgoWrBT1qd9bz1o1_500.jpg)
Will Your City be Underwater? There’s a Map for That
A new report shows accelerated sea level rise from global warming has doubled the risk of extreme flooding events in many coastal communities.
Ben Strauss of Climate Central explained what this means for New York City:
“[Sea level rise] raises the launching pad for coastal storms. And Manhattan is very vulnerable to coastal storms. New York Harbor is shaped a little like a funnel. So, if a hurricane hits at the wrong angle, there’s already the possibility of a storm surge that would leap into Lower Manhattan and fill the subway system, much of which is already below sea level, and disable it.”
In other words: under normal circumstances, these coastal communities would be fine. But if a severe weather event were to hit, they’d be in big, big trouble.
Strauss also put it this way: ”If you were to raise the floor of a basketball court, you would see a lot more dunks. And sea level rise is raising the floor that storms launch from.”
Watch the full interview here:
-KC
