Coastal

Temperate climates, attractive scenery, ease of navigation, and access to ocean food supplies have put coastlines at the forefront of human development throughout history around the world. Coastal living carries risk, however, as hurricanes and other coastal storms inflict trillions in property and infrastructure damage each year. Climate change will only elevate these risks. Rising sea levels will, over time, inundate low-lying property and increase the amount of flooding that occurs during coastal storms. Moreover, warmer sea surface temperatures may change the frequency and intensity of those storms.
Higher average sea levels due to climate change will lead to higher storm surges and elevated flooding risks in coastal communities world-wide, even if the intensity or frequency of storms remains unchanged. While the record 13.9 foot storm tide in New York Harbor during Superstorm Sandy was primarily due to the coincidence of the strongest winds with high tide, sea-level rise driven by historical climate change added more than one foot to that total.

Sophisticated new models can be used estimate potential losses from coastal storms under a range of climate change scenarios

While it is impossible to attribute any single storm to anthropgenic climate change, sophisticated new models can be used estimate potential losses from coastal storms under a range of climate change scenarios. These models are currently used by the insurance industry in underwriting flood and wind insurance products, by the finance industry in pricing catastrophe bonds, and by local officials in coastal communities in preparing for and responding to hurricanes and other coastal storms. These can be incredibly powerful tools for understanding how climate change will likely shape both industry and coastal community risk exposure in the years ahead.