South Florida coastal cities are affected by sea level rise

As sea-level rise creeps inland storms become more intense. The multitude of canals and spillways that drain Miami-Dade and Broward counties are becoming obsolete, and the Army Corps of Engineers and SFWMD are concerned enough to hatch a plan.

The plan, currently in an exploratory phase known as the 216 Study, will end up being very complex and very expensive. 

A population of 22 million, with less open space to absorb rainfall. Sea levels have risen 8 inches since 1950, according to Florida State’s Florida Climate Center, and NOAA projects them to be 3 feet higher than they are now by 2075.

As sea levels rise, gravity will no longer do the trick. Most, if not all, of the canals and spillways, which send water east toward the Atlantic, will need pumps to keep the western two-thirds of the region from flooding during heavy rain events.

If everything goes to plan, the Army Corps of Engineers and SFWMD will install 20 pumps in the matrix of canals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. “Some gates would be raised in height, but we would also have to tie in the gates to higher lands,” said SFWMD resiliency officer Carolina Maran.

Water can lap over the top of some of the gates during extremely high tides.

South Florida’s western suburbs faced rain floods, and coastal properties were inundated by king tides.

Over a few days, 12 inches of rain fell on much of Broward and Miami-Dade counties. As western suburbs began to flood, king tides pushed in from the ocean, and there was nowhere for the floodwater to go.

Coastal cities in the southern US, including Miami, Houston and New Orleans, are in even greater peril from sea-level rise than scientists already feared, according to a new analysis.

The University of Arizona study, published in the Journal of Climate and reported by the Washington Post, provides an alarming new assessment of a key ingredient of the escalating climate emergency, particularly in popular but vulnerable areas of the US where millions of people live.

Existing projections by Nasa show a sea-level rise to 12in (30cm) by the middle of the century, with longer-range forecasts even more dire.

The Gulf region from Texas to Florida, and the southern Atlantic seaboard will see most of the change, the agency says.

The threat from rising oceans hangs over numerous centers of heavy population located on, or close to the coast. Miami, and Miami Beach, cities often cited as ground zero for the climate emergency, frequently see flooding during high tides. 

Human activity in the Gulf region, which the researchers refer to as “vertical land motion” (VLM), has played a role, the study continues.

Tide gauges in the Gulf of Mexico are subject to significant nonlinear VLM, likely related to oil, gas, or groundwater withdrawal. These nonlinear changes appear predominantly along the western portions of the US Gulf Coast.

Two tropical storms hit Florida - Elsa and Fred - made NOAA's annual list disasters.

Hurricane Michael, which killed 50 people.

Hurricane Michael (160 mph).

Hurricane Irma occurred just weeks after Hurricane Harvey. 
Hurricane Irma made landfall, killing 77 people.

Hurricane Frances, which killed 37 people.
Hurricane Charley, which killed 29, also. 

 Hurricane Michael  (165 mph) was which made landfall in Florida as a Category 5 hurricane. 

The year was with the most tropical cyclones affecting the state in the period between 1975 and 1999. 
Every year included at least one tropical cyclone affecting the state. 

The year was with the most tropical cyclones affecting the state in the period between 1950 and 1974. 
The strongest hurricane to hit the state during the period was Hurricane Donna, which was the tenth strongest hurricane on record to strike the contiguous United States. Additionally, Hurricanes Easy, King, Betsy, and Alma hit or otherwise impacted the state as major hurricanes.

The strongest storm to ever strike the United States was the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, which came ashore in Florida with sustained wind speeds of 185 miles per hour — making it a high-end Category 5 storm. The storm also had a central pressure of 892 when it hit the coast, something that is extraordinarily rare in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, let alone at landfall.

The deadliest storm in the modern record to strike Florida was the Okeechobee Hurricane, which is estimated to have killed at least 2,500 people, with some estimates taking the death toll markedly higher, according to the National Weather Service.

A strong hurricane struck northwest Florida on May 28, is the earliest landfall.