A recent report published by the Environmental Protection Agency has found that cities in the American South have become increasingly susceptible to flooding.
What's happening?
The EPA's fifth edition of the Climate Change Indicators in the United States compared the frequency of flooding in 43 U.S. coastal cities over the past 70 years.
It used data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to reveal the average number of days a year that coastal water exceeded a local threshold for flooding. Some of the highest increases among cities in the contiguous U.S. occurred in the South.
"The frequency of flooding along the Texas Gulf Coast over the past decade averaged 10.7 days a year, compared with a national average for coastal regions of 6.8 days," the Houston Chronicle wrote.
Pier 21 in Galveston, Texas, averaged 13.9 days of flooding per year from 2014 to 2023 after getting 0.1 such days from 1950 to 1959. The state's other markers in Port Isabel were not as drastic but still experienced a jump from zero days of flooding a year during the 1950s to 3.7 days per year in the past decade.
"Over the last 30 years, the rates of sea level rise along the Gulf Coast have been the highest in the nation, and it's only going to accelerate," NOAA oceanographer William Sweet said, per the Chronicle. "Beyond 2050 we're talking beyond the goal posts, with the potential for some really big numbers if emissions don't abate."
Why is more frequent flooding concerning?
According to Sweet, natural processes and the extraction of water, oil, and natural gas have caused cities and towns along the Gulf of Mexico to sink, making the region vulnerable to inundation.
Furthermore, the Chronicle reported that the NOAA estimates that the Gulf's sea level could rise 2 to 6 feet by the end of the century. This combination, fueled by an overreliance on dirty energy sources that cause the planet to overheat, could damage infrastructure in coastal communities and permanently alter the landscape.
Jim Gibeaut, a marine scientist at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, told the outlet that the effects of flooding are transforming wetlands around Corpus Christi into open water.
It's a cyclical process that will make the region more prone to the impacts of hurricanes and tropical storms. After all, the Harte Institute believes that Category 2 hurricanes will flood an extra 232 square miles in Texas by 2100.
"Even smaller events are becoming more and more problematic because of sea level rise," Gibeaut said.
What's being done about flooding?
The EPA's report suggested using oysters to help boost shoreline resilience. The mollusks form reefs that serve as a protective barrier against waves that cause erosion. Projects from Louisiana to the Chesapeake Bay have successfully repopulated oyster communities, which can also improve water quality and provide habitat for other creatures.
Meanwhile, a program in California's Palo Alto has installed several rain gardens with flood-tolerant native plants. Its potential economic and ecological benefits could make it a blueprint for other cities in low-lying areas.
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