Global Warming

Coastal Floods in South Carolina due to Sea Level Rise

Most of the coastal floods in South Carolina during the past 66 years caused problems for residents only because of sea level rise, a new study indicates.

The report, titled “Unnatural Coastal Flooding,” puts the blame on human activity, the same notion behind the debate in the United States over climate change. The report isn’t referring to major storms, such as Hurricane Matthew, which produced sea surges and storm tides that would have washed over large areas of land with or without the recorded 8 inches of rise in the Atlantic waters.

The report says: “Just as sea levels have been rising, so too has the frequency of coastal floods, in particular recurrent minor or ‘nuisance’ floods, often tidal in nature. Nuisance floods do not cause major damage, but do cause material harm, inconvenience and economic drag. Every coastal flood today is deeper and more damaging because of sea level rise caused by humans through climate change.”