By Aria Bendix
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Though it's possible for cities to install new infrastructure and artificial barriers to protect themselves from climate change, time is running out. Here are the 7 cities in the US most likely to disappear underwater by 2100.
New Orleans, Louisiana is already sinking
New Orleans still hasn't fully recovered from the catastrophic damage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The city's location on a river delta makes it vulnerable to flooding and sea-level rise. Some areas lie 15 feet below sea level. Though wetlands have shielded New Orleans from storm surges in the past, that buffer has gradually been destroyed by human activity.
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In Miami, Florida, sea levels are rising faster than those in other areas of the world
Environmental author Jeff Goodell has referred to Miami as "the poster child for a major city in big trouble."
The city's sea levels are already rising fast enough to damage homes and roads. A 2018 report from the Union of Concerned Scientists suggested that 12,000 homes in Miami Beach are in danger of chronic flooding within the next 30 years. That puts around $6.4 billion worth of property at risk — the most of any coastal community examined in that report.
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Houston, Texas could be inundated by another storm like Hurricane Harvey
Like New Orleans, areas of Houston are sinking at a rate of 2 inches per year. The main culprit is excessive groundwater pumping, which creates a change in pressure and volume that prompts the land to sink.
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