NOLA's risks up for future flooding

High tide flooding events on the East and Gulf coasts are occurring at twice the rate recorded in 2000, NOAA oceanographer William Sweet, said in an online media presentation by the agency Aug 3. The newly released information documents change in high tide flooding patterns from May 2021 to April 2022 at 97 NOAA tide gauges along U.S. coats. “It also provides a flooding outlook for these locations through April 2023 and projections for several decades High tide flooding, commonly called “sunny day” flooding, in coastal communities owing to a past century of sea level rise and climate change. The trend means flooding problems will happen more routinely during the full moon phases or times of prolonged currents and onshore winds. The National Ocean Service reported all-time high tide record days at three U.S. locations - Reedy Point, Del.; Kwajalein Island in the Marshall Islands; and Springmaid Pier, S.C. - between May 2021 and April 2022. NOAA projections predict high tide flood frequency between May 2022 and April 2023 will average 3-7 days compared to an increase from the 2-6 days between 2019-20. The National Ocean Service data shows some of the biggest risks to New Orleans and Houston. Sea level rise effects there are compounded because “the land is sinking.” Southern Louisiana coast and wetlands are starved of sediment that should be supplied by the Mississippi River and can’t replace the elevation lost to soil compaction, at a rate around 1-inch every two and a half years, he said. (Source: Work Boat 08/02/22) High tide flooding days increasing on East and Gulf coasts | WorkBoat