![]() ![]() It's important to note that this map only takes sea-level rise into account when mapping 100-year flood zones. New York City Panel on Climate Change 2015 Report The size of a 100-year flood zone changes depending on how high sea level is expected to be in a given year — as sea level rises, more and more land will be flooded with the same storm, because of the extra water from the sea level rising.įor each time period shown on the map — the 2020s, 2050s, 2080s, and 2100s — sea level is expected to rise a little higher, pushing the floodwaters a little further inland.ÂĪt today's sea level, the 100-year flood zone is 50 square miles — that means the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that there's currently a 1 percent chance of a flood that would inundate 50 square miles of land in New York City. (For comparison, the storm surge brought on by Hurricane Sandy was bigger than the predicted 500-year flood, or a flood with a 0.5 percent chance of happening.)  The map is based on the hypothetical "100-year flood zone" — the land that has a 1 percent chance of being flooded this year. The New York City Panel on Climate Change created this map to show which parts of the city might flood at different points in the century. In order to plan ahead, it's important to know which areas are most at risk of flooding under these scenarios. By the end of the century, sea level could be six feet higher than it is today. Unfortunately, the new report predicts sea level to rise by anywhere from 11 to 21 inches by the 2050s, and 18 to 39 inches by the 2080s. With so many people living right on the coast, an increase of just a few inches could be disastrous. Rising sea level is one of the most worrisome issues facing New York City. Warming temperatures, heavier rainfall, and rising seas — these are some of the climate-related effects in store for the Big Apple in the coming decade. The New York City Panel on Climate Change has released a new report containing some alarming predictions for the city's climate future. Getty Images/Andrew Burton Flooding in New York City during Hurricane Sandy. ![]()
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