Increasing flood costs over the next three decades will mainly impact people of color , study shows. The united states is already spending tens of billions of dollars a year on flood damage as hurricanes get more intense , sea level rises along the coasts and extreme weather becomes more frequent. And a new study suggests that not only is flooding going to cost the US even more in the future around 26% more by 2050 but people of color are going to bear the brunt of that increase.
The study published in the Journal Natural climate change , found the cost of flooding in the US will likely rise from around $32 billion today to $42 billion in 2050. And like many aspects of the climate crisis , the change in flood risk wont affect everyone equally.
Currently , researchers found , severe flooding is disproportionately harming low-income white communities in the Appalachian region , particularly in west virginia. Over the next 30 years, the study shows that risk shifting disproportionately toward primarily black communities along the atlantic and golf coasts.
While there is a strong connection between the climate crisis and flood risk , The study authors noted that population growth will have a much larger impact on the increasing cost of flooding. They say itś another example of why policymakers need to put more focus on adaption , helping communities adapt to the climate crisis and grow more resilient against extreme weather.
- Jade Zuniga
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