City officials have to keep in mind, clear day flooding can become stagnant and invite mosquito populations. Here again, the Zika virus has to be considered a public health concern.
Pedestrians stroll past standing water in Alexandria, Va., in May 2016 after high tides from the Potomac River inundated the street.
June 8, 2016
Pedestrians stroll past standing water in Alexandria, Va., in May 2016 after high tides from the Potomac River inundated the street.June 8, 2016
By Doyle Rice
...William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer, (click here) said the historically high waters aren't anything new. "Last year we broke several records, and trends show that we'll likely continue to do so in the future," he said.
Nuisance flooding leads to road closures, overwhelmed storm drains and damaged property. It occurs with high tides in many locations due mainly to climate-related sea-level rise.
The loss of natural barriers and land subsidence — a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth's surface due to underground movement of soil, rock and other materials — also contribute.
Heat-trapping greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels causes glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica to melt. Warmer water takes up more space that cooler water or ice, causing sea levels to rise as a result.
Since 1880, the ocean has risen nearly 8 inches worldwide, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, but it doesn't do so evenly. In the past 100 years, it's climbed about a foot or more in some U.S. cities.
Flooding increased on all three U.S. coasts between 300% and 925% since the 1960s, with the biggest increases in the Mid-Atlantic. This year, NOAA predicts cities such as Annapolis, Md., Wilmington, N.C., and Washington, D.C., will see the most days with nuisance flooding.
