CRISFIELD, Md. - Sea levels are rising faster than ever before. According to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - or NOAA - the United States will see 10-12 inches of sea level rise in the next 30 years and Delmarva is no exception. Tom Cawthern is a geo science professor at Salisbury University and says low lying areas like Crisfield, Ocean City, and Tangier and Smith Islands are especially vulnerable.
“These areas are flat and very gently sloped and so a rise in 10 to 12 inches actually inundates the landscape or invades inland much further than it would on a perfectly low lying cliff face,” Cawthern said
The report says sea level rise will create a shift in coastal flooding. By 2050 moderate flooding is expected to occur more than 10 times as often as it does today and major flooding will occur more than five times as often. Eric Banks built his business in Crisfield higher than others and the last time the town flooded, it paid off.
“I think I did my business a good gesture here because I got it up high enough where I only got a couple inches of water while the other businesses in the surrounding area got a foot or so or more,” Banks said.
There are plenty of communities on Delmarva where 10-12 more inches of water would be devastating. In the Chesapeake Bay Smith and Tangier Islands are already susceptible to severe flooding. In Dorchester county - the Black Water Wildlife refuge deals with chronic flooding. Cawthern says some people who live along the coast will be forced to move.
“So we do actually see this climate migration occurring with communities and people to get away from these areas by rising sea levels, changing climate belts and so forth,” Cawthern said.
The NOAA report says while all of the US is expected to see a sea level rise increase the east and gulf coasts can expect more rise than average because of sinking land. Which means NOAA expects communities on Delmarva to be hit hard in the next few decades.