Low-cost houses in US costal areas at high flood risk: Study

New York, Dec 1 : Researchers have revealed that the number of affordable housing units in the US coastal areas vulnerable to flooding could triple by 2050 as the planet heats up.
According to a report from The Verge, more than 24,000 homes could be flooded at least once a year by 2050, compared to about 8,000 in 2000.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, ranks the states and cities at greatest risk. The researchers also unveiled a new interactive map that people can use to see how their hometown might be affected.
According to the researchers, as the world warms, seas rise. That means tides are creeping further ashore, and storm surges are becoming a bigger threat to homes along the coast.
The encroaching waters are just one-way climate change is transforming cities, and the dangers are piling up on lower-income communities.
“I hope this can guide policy that will help the people who are most vulnerable to coastal flooding, which is low-income people in affordable housing. We feel like we’ve really pinpointed that problem with this study,” said study co-author Benjamin Strauss, who is also chief scientist and CEO of the non-profit research organisation Climate Central.