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I’ve read 2 articles recently about rising ocean levels and values/desirability on beach properties. Realtor groups are understandably saying the studies are overstated.
FROM WIKIPEDIA—-Projecting future sea level has always been challenging…projections have consistently increased…in 2007 the high end of …projections through 2099 was less than 2 feet (0.61 m)…but in their 2014 report the high end was …about 3 feet (0.91 m)…A number of later studies …2.0 to 2.7 metres (6 ft 7 in to 8 ft 10 in) rise this century is “physically plausible”.
I also read that a buyer of beach property in NC or SC should consider the affect of a potential sea level rise of 5 ft in 30 years which is the most common term of loan.
Whether you believe the low end of rise (2 ft) or the high end (9 ft), it is interesting to see how your current STR property or maybe a STR property you are considering will fare.
Every time I see a program where people are searching for a property “on the beach”, I always immediately think about rising sea levels. I, personally, would never ever buy anything that isn’t at least 2 - 3 meters above sea level.
We just purchased a home that’s waterfront and we’re concerned about the raising sea level but since we’re in our sixties we figured we are going to live in the moment and not worry too much about the near future. We’re probably be dead by the time the sea level raises.
The only thing I don’t like with this generator is that it does not show “historical sea level rise” – date taken over the last 20 or 30 or more years. It starts with 2020. I want to see how much sea levels have risen since they started gathering data.
We live 15 miles inland and three feet above high tide in Southwest Florida. I think we’re safe for the next 20 years. The sea rise data “worst case” shows 6 feet sea rise in 40 years.
Frankly, I’ll be long dead and gone, and could care less. My generation (I’m 70) tried hard to bring things to global awareness on many fronts – global warming, greenhouse gases, deforestation, and more – and has failed to wake up the world. Good luck with that to the 40-50 year olds…
@KenH. I think it would be interesting too, especially after reading articles about islands slowly disappearing.
Perhaps there is a lack of historical maps because sea levels have only changed 7 inches in the past 100 years, the change may not be very noticible for most areas.
Some facts are well established. Researchers can say that global ocean levels have risen 19 centimeters (approx 7 inches) in the last century. And the rate of rise has sped up.
I purchased condos 12 ft above sea level (a high spot on the island) by accident. It was not a deliberate choice.
In the past two years Hurricanes Matthew, Florence & Michael created serious flooding in my area. My homes were dry and undamaged. During October both condos became temporary housing for displaced locals. I am incredibly fortunate.
We had a King high tide today in Charleston combined with a full moon.
It was the 6th highest tide ever recorded.
I can see the change with my own eyes.
“The Holy City saw its sixth highest tide on record Saturday morning, which crested at 8.76 feet, exceeding levels seen during the 1,000-year flood event in October 2015 but lower than a high tide recorded on Jan. 1, 1987.”
An August 2018 story spotlighted a beautiful home in Charleston that was valued at over $1M 2 years ago. The owner is bulldozing it because 1. It flooded due to storms in 2016 & 2017 & 2018. 2. She’s been advised no one will buy it because of the high risk for flooding.
She is selling the land for $600,000 however $400,000 loss in value can be devastating. So sad.
Before I bought my place, in southern Australia, set back about 50m from a 10m cliff over a protected bay I checked to see if there were any erosion problems and found nothing online. Then when i got here I discovered there is some ongoing erosion during high tide storms but as the council placed boulders at the bottom of my part of the cliff it only effects neighbours 500m away. They wanted to replant the mangroves that had been ripped out to make soap in the late 1800s but every time they do this the people who hate mangroves (how you can hate a “tree in the sea” is beyond me and I grew up in the tropics where there was more mangrove than beach) go in at night and rip them up. We had a community meeting about it and there was a lot of shouting. So now they have put in these 3 giant sandbag thingies which slow the water down and build up the sand behind them and stop the waves crashing directly on the cliff. They seem to work okay and look better. Some people don’t like them either but they are too big to destroy or move.
The upside of all this was the revised council zoning plan said they have to take into account a sea level rise of up to 1m for all coastal developments. This meant the strip of farm land behind my house which I thought would eventually have some ugly housing estate built on it has been zoned as not suitable for housing! I figure by the time the cliffs crumble and my place falls into the sea I’ll be long gone. Then just the concrete terrace and patio will be left for fishermen to tie their boats up to.
Here is a picture of the sand bags from the cliff opposite my place with my trusty dog Jade keeping watch for pirates.
Plants make a huge difference. In aerial pictures of the damage from hurricane Michael there were homes and buildings washed away and in the middle of it would be a home still standing with heavy foliage surrounding it.
My friends have a home on a barrier island. Their lot is heavily planted with natural to the area brush/trees with just enough cleared to park and walk around the building. Their deck was damaged and their grandfathered downstairs apartment filled with dune sand washing in but their house stayed standing and their land was stable. Since they used indigenous plants, the salt water didn’t kill them. Waves washed 3 rows in. Their lot & home had less damage than some further in that had only grass.
The reason I said grandfathered downstairs apartment is new buildings are allowed parking and storage at ground level—residential structures need to be elevated.
I notice the pirates are successfully being scared away by your pup. Good dog.
I’m a history channel fan and I can’t get enough of the new season of Curse of Oak Island. Since pirates and knights Templar used the island, I’m ready to see some treasure!
Such a very important topic. I am just completing my certification to be a Climate Leader, meaning I have studied the science and taken a four hour exam. It is part of my job as Land Use Planner in Maryland where I work where there is anticipated at least a 2.5 ft. rise in sea level rise by 2050 of the Chesapeake Bay - largest estuary in North America - and with the combination of melting Artic ice and subsidence of our land, Maryland may face even greater challenges. My STR property is 40 feet from a tidal river that is a major tributary to the Chesapeake Bay. Fortunately we are on a hill overlooking the river and have only had minor impacts to our dock during the worst hurricanes in our area - Floyd and Isabel. Maryland requires all shorelines be planted in what is know as a “living shoreline” which is a combination of grasses and rocks and structured groins to help reduce wave action and assist wild life that needs to lay eggs on the shore such as horseshoe crabs. But these actions will not be enough and we will need to take further action such a requiring homes to be raised at least 4 feet above mean high water line and actually not allowing any more structures to be built in the floodplain. These are very hard decisions to make but being flooded is devastating and will have major impacts both culturally and financially for the US -here is a picture of my beloved capital city of Maryland - Annapolis city dock -
this happens on a regular basis - more than once a month and is know as “sunny day flooding” - we need to address this for ourselves but more importantly for our children and their children!
This is such an important issue and probably the issue of the 21st century and why we all have to put pressure on our politicians. I have a lake shore holiday home which has never been known to have flooding problems but we (and more likely our children and grand children) are going to face new ‘norms’.
In my two day class on November 19-20, 2018 the issue of water shortages was addressed. It is going to get much worse so what we eat will be very important in determining our water supply. We all know that almonds use an inordinate amount of water to grow but so does cattle so reducing your beef intake and also making food choices that are sustainable will be very important for our future on this planet. I haven’t eat any meat in over 30 years and stopped for ethical and sustainable reasons. Many societies have been plant based for generations and I am hopeful that with the right leadership we can start guiding this planet to a more sustainable and resilient future - I am off my soap box now
But it’s an excellent soapbox to be on. Even when I was a kid (and I’m pretty old) it was common knowledge that the world would have a hard time supporting all the meat-eaters on the planet. But the people who could really make a difference paid no attention.
The more we can encourage ‘ordinary people’ to eat less or no meat, the better.
I just watched a show on PBS called Sinking Cities, specifically the Miami episode - the single most threatened city in the world, according to the filmmakers, and king tides are more of a threat than hurricanes.
Surely the noble, articulate, intelligent and wise President Donald Trump has assured us that this is all a hoax - especially with elite scientists publishing inaccurate reports?
