Future Flood Losses Could Increase Ten Times by 2050

The rapid growth of the world’s coastal cities, coupled with sea level rise and land subsidence, could mean that flood losses in major metropolitan areas could rise from $6 billion in 2005 to more than $60 billion in 2050, according to a new study. Reporting in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers said sea level increases of 8 to 16 inches by 2050 could cause $60 billion to $63 billion in damages in 136 of the world’s coastal cities. That figure assumes the cities will undertake some flood control measures. Cities whose infrastructure and buildings are now most at risk — including New York; New Orleans; Miami; Guangzhou, China; and Osaka, Japan — will be joined in four decades by other rapidly growing cities, such as Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Abidjan, Ivory Coast.