A ground-breaking study projects that portions of a popular southern Florida city could be under five feet of water in certain scenarios within 45 years.
What's happening?
Southern Florida is facing flooding risks on multiple fronts as our world warms. The combination of rising tides, heavy rain, and elevated groundwater levels raises the risks of significant flooding for many of the Sunshine State's coastal communities.
It is an example of something called a compound hazard. This is when multiple natural or human-caused hazards can overlap to magnify the overall impact of an event. Broward County, Florida, has recently concluded a study that addresses the one-two-three punch that compound flooding can inflict on the southern part of the state.
"Sunny day flooding" is showing up more often in coastal areas. The paradoxical-sounding term describes flooding primarily due to sea level rise during high tides without any storms or rain. Sunny day flooding can combine with "king tides," the highest naturally occurring tides of the year, to exacerbate compound flooding events.
According to projections, a sea level rise of 3.3 feet is reasonable under certain scenarios by 2070 for Fort Lauderdale. That, along with a king tide, high groundwater levels, and around 18 inches of rain, could combine to produce disastrous flooding that would sink portions of Fort Lauderdale under five feet of water.
"The reality is that under the right conditions, those are realistic flood scenarios," Broward County's chief resilience officer, Jennifer Jurado, told the Miami Herald in an article featured on the Pulitzer Center's website.
"We don't have the luxury of just having sea level rise. It's sea level rise plus it's raining, it's sea level rise plus storm surge," Jurado added. "The challenge is that you can't plan all infrastructure under this combination of the most severe of scenarios, but you do want to understand what those scenarios look like."
Why is compound flooding in southern Florida important?
The flooding outlined in Broward County's study could rival the severity of the historic Fort Lauderdale flood that occurred there about two years ago. Fort Lauderdale was severely flooded when 25 inches of rain fell in about five hours in April 2023. The flood knocked out power to over 20,000 residents, stranded motorists, and closed the city's airport. Exits along Interstate 95 were shut down, and Broward County schools were forced to close.
"We all know that under the right conditions, any of our communities could flood," Jurado warned. "The question is: at what level?"
High tides alone are now flooding streets more often. When combined with stronger coastal storms supercharged by any overheating planet, these higher water levels push saltwater farther inland, damaging homes and infrastructure.
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Definitely 🥰 What's being done about the rising risk of coastal flooding?
A recently released study warns that standard flood measurements don't fully reflect the growing number of coastal flooding events. Miami, just 25 miles south of Fort Lauderdale, is considering the costly measure of raising its roadways to help deal with its flooding. Cities like New York are investing in bluebelts with the hope that they will act as a natural buffer to flooding.
Exploring critical climate issues, such as how the rising sea levels in our warming world are impacting coastal flooding, and sharing this information with family and friends can help raise awareness about the problems our planet is facing. Discussions with neighbors could even inspire them to take local action to help make a difference.
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