Mapping Tool Shows Flood Risks & Infrastructure Impact
Summary
A new website and interactive mapping tool was released by the Southern Environmental Law Center to allow citizens, activists, and policymakers to look at how both current and proposed infrastructure will fare in wetter conditions as sea levels rise in the coming years and climate change reshapes the Southeast Coast. The mapping tool shows roads leading to the proposed Mid-Currituck Bridge in North Carolina could be flooded on sunny days in the future if sea level climbs just two feet, rendering the span useless. Likewise, on the banks of the Mobile River in Alabama, a 21-million-ton pile of toxic coal ash could be threatened by a Category 2 hurricane – a threat that only increases as sea levels continue to rise. "This tool and the data behind it will show you where water will be in the coming years," said Chris DeScherer, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. The Changing Coasts incorporates about a dozen databases to show a comprehensive picture of how future flooding will affect coastal Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.