Rising Sea Levels Put North Carolina on Edge

A new report was just released that details specifically how East Coast parts of North Carolina face significant dangers from rising sea levels. Extreme flood conditions are the main concern - an issue that some Carolinians want to stay in the dark about for fear of what new data will do to their property value.

The North Carolina Coastal Resource Commission (CRC) Science Panel met Monday to discuss updating data on rising sea levels initally released in 2010. Earlier last week, the Climate Central nonprofit group released its own detailed report on North Carolina risks, moving on to asses South Carolina and Georgia this week and next.

Ben Strauss, the lead author of the Climate Central reports, told the Associated Press that while his work is more detailed, all these reports reflect the same thing: North Carolina's coastal region is, or will be, in deep water.

According to the report based off data from the NOAA, Strauss and his team projected threats to the population, property value, schools, churches and utilities. They even estimated repair costs to flood-affected regions.

Most notably, the report found that within 40 years, water four feet above high tide could potentially affect a danger zone that includes 54,000 homes and $24 billion in property. North Carolina also has 2,500 miles of road, 15 schools, 108 houses of worship and 131 waste sites and sewage plants already less than four feet above the high tide line.

So what will North Carolina do about this? Efforts to mitigate potential damages are already underway, but it still remains largely in the hands of the people, many of whom would rather pretend that nothing is happening.

Following its formation in 1997, a science panel designed to advice the CRC found itself tasked with predicting the potential effects of rising sea levels all the way into the year 2100. The resulting 2010 report predicted only a three-foot rise in sea levels in that 90 year span. Realty organizations in particular fought to have such data ignored, claiming that speculation could only hurt current property values.

Kelly Willo, a lobbyist for realtors and home builders on the Outer Banks - a region far into the "danger zone" cited in the most recent Climate Center report - told the Washington Post that the first CRC report was "a death sentence, for ever trying to sell your house."

"We don't have any tools in our toolbox other than retreat," she told Post reporter Lori Montgomery. "What everyone is thinking is that they just want people off the Outer Banks."

Still, Logan Cotton, a research analyst for Global Solutions, says that it is good that these reports are "jumping the gun," becoming increasingly more accurate and detailed every few years.

"While no one wants to see the worth of homes on North Carolina's coast sunk... covering our eyes and fudging the truth will still leave us high and dry - or below sea-level and quite wet, I suppose."

Are you a North Carolina Resident? You can check if your home could be at risk using the Division of Emergency Management's iRISK online tool.

**CORRECTION** an earlier version of this article stated that the CRC was formed in 2010. This error has since been corrected. The iRISK online tool was also initially labeled as a product of the CRC. It is a draft-stage product released by the DEM.