Produced by: Manoj Kumar
By 2100, millions of Americans could lose their homes as coastal cities from Miami to New York succumb to rising seas, warns a USGS study, forecasting catastrophic flooding and sinking land.
Sea levels rising by 3.2 feet could destroy over $1 trillion in property and wipe out 80% of East Coast beaches, reshaping communities and economies forever.
Stanford researchers reveal California’s San Joaquin Valley is sinking nearly an inch annually due to relentless groundwater extraction, threatening infrastructure and water supplies.
Water overuse in California has compressed aquifers, permanently altering them. “We need 220 billion gallons of water annually to halt further sinking,” says Rosemary Knight of Stanford.
Since 1920, sea levels have risen 6–8 inches, but warming oceans could push that to 3.2 feet by 2100, with coastal flooding expected five times as often within 30 years, according to Nature Climate Change.
USGS predicts 70% of the East Coast population will be affected by rising groundwater, intensifying flooding from both natural disasters and rising seas.
Using cutting-edge InSAR radar, researchers mapped San Joaquin Valley subsidence from 2006 to 2022, confirming dramatic shifts in land elevation caused by water extraction.
Experts advocate flood-managed aquifer recharge, diverting excess rain and snowmelt to replenish aquifers. This strategic intervention could stave off further subsidence in vulnerable areas.
“Rethinking infrastructure and resilience strategies is critical,” says Dr. Manoochehr Shirzaei of Virginia Tech. Future planning must prioritize vulnerable coastal and agricultural regions to mitigate rising seas and sinking lands.