Experts issue warning as worsening crisis could impact millions of homeowners: 'We are in this and we cannot avoid it'

As global temperatures and sea levels continue to rise, a new analysis found that insurance could become impossible for millions of homeowners to obtain. This could eventually force people to abandon entire towns.

What's happening?

The Guardian reported on a new analysis from insurance company Aviva. It showed the effects of increased flooding on millions of homes across the United Kingdom.

In England, the analysis found, the number of properties vulnerable to flooding will likely increase from 6.3 million to 8 million sometime around 2050. The number of properties at high risk of flash floods is expected to increase by 66% in that same timeframe.

As the risk of severe flood damage increases, flood insurance could become impossible to obtain. Or, it could become so expensive that many property owners couldn't feasibly afford it. That could lead to wide swaths of people having to abandon their homes.

The Guardian pointed to the English town of Tenbury Wells. It's suffered once-a-decade types of floods four times in the past six years. Because of those floods, its public buildings are no longer insurable.

"We do feel abandoned," Tenbury Wells Deputy Mayor Lesley Davies told the Guardian. "We are the blueprint for what could happen in the future — there may be other towns getting towards that situation, there are a lot of vulnerable towns on rivers all over."

Why is flooding important?

Increased flooding is just one of the many consequences of rising global temperatures. 

As high levels of heat-trapping pollution send temperatures soaring, glaciers also melt, causing sea levels to rise across the planet. These increased temperatures also cause extreme weather events to happen with more frequency and severity. These factors put more coastal communities at risk of major flooding.

"We are not talking about this because we are waving a flag about climate or sustainability — it's nothing to do with that, our business is totally correlated with what happens in the environment," Aviva's Jason Storah told the Guardian. "We are in this and we cannot avoid it."

What can be done about flooding?

The only way to stop these floods from happening is to take action that stops the planet's continued warming. This requires action on many levels. Global acts, like the Paris Agreement, and local acts, like mending clothes instead of throwing them out, can all help.

Experts told the Guardian that homeowners who could be at flood risk should take action now to make their homes flood-proof. Actions include installing flood doors and tile floors and moving ground-level electrical sockets to higher locations.

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