Latest news with #coastalflooding
ABC News
6 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Fijian village is planning new evacuation centre after higher tides than seen in living memory impact homes and communities
On the northern island of Vanua Levu in Fiji, the coastal village of Ligaulevu has slowly been relocating inland to avoid rising sea levels and ever-increasing coastal flooding. Having an evacuation plan and a physical space for people to shelter in is on the minds of the community as currently the school is being used for this purpose. 'But we have our plan, to try to build up a building that we will go to when disasters come,' Merewalesi Divosi, Ligaulevu villager said. The high tide levels are something that the community hasn't seen since in their living memory, as Ms Divosi said. 'We haven't had [flooding like this] from our parents, our grandfather, grandmothers that has happened here before, but this is the first time that happened, that the waves come in and go right in the village,' Ms Divosi said. 'Before we usually see that only three days that we experience high tide, but now it takes like one week. It's been high tide for one week.' Ms Divosi said the village wants to be proactive and build a seawall before asking for assistance of any kind from aid or government organisations. 'We have been trying to stop the sand from going out, that's why we are building the seawall,' Ms Divosi said. *Pacific Prepared is produced by ABC International Development with funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Poole £29m flood defence scheme approved
A £29.4m scheme to protect a town centre from coastal flooding has been approved by a walls and ground-raising are planned along a 1.5km (one mile) stretch of Holes Bay at Poole, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council said the scheme would provide "robust protection until at least 2071, with future upgrades to follow".The money will come from central government and developers. Thousands of properties are at risk from tidal flooding due to climate change and sea level rise over the next 100 years, the council defences are designed to withstand a one in 200-year flooding Andy Hadley, in charge of climate response, said: "This scheme... will complete important flood defences for Poole Old Town. "Once constructed, it will unlock the regeneration potential of Poole's West Quays which has been a long-term ambition of the council."The project includes defences alongside Holes Bay Road, which opened in 1988 on reclaimed will start in August for five months to raise the adjoining coastal path from near Sterte Avenue West to Lifeboat will also be carried out to install sheet piling at the quay and between Whittles Way and Poole the scheme, flood damage could cost more than £161m over the next century, according to South West Flood & group, a partnership between BCP Council and East Devon District Council, said the project would complete Poole's flood defences, after work began in 2018. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Swansea flood defence and promenade 'like the Med' unveiled
A major project aimed at protecting a large part of the shoreline near Swansea has officially £26m project, which took two years to complete, covers 1.2km (0.75 miles) in Mumbles, aiming to protect homes and businesses from coastal flooding, while also resulting in a wider, more attractive owners had previously said the work had led to fewer people visiting, but now hope it will boost visitor numbers. Swansea council leader Rob Stewart said the new-look promenade "can rival anything in the Mediterranean". Deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies, who grew up in nearby Gowerton, unveiled a plaque on the promenade, describing it as "magnificent".A recent Met Office report revealed that the UK sea level is rising faster than the global average, with the risk of flooding expected to increase. Irranca-Davies, who is responsible for climate change and rural affairs, said there was a set of criteria for prioritising coastal defence schemes based on social and economic factors."We cannot defend every inch of seafront and coastline," he Bollom, who lives nearby, said some neighbours living on the ground floor had lost some views of the bay, but understood the work needed to be done."It looks amazing," she said of the seawall and promenade. "And I would rather not get flooded. The old seawall was eroding and it looked scruffy," she said, adding there were new seats and bins. Lily Ella Westacott, manager of local lifestyle shop Hiatus, was also pleased with the project."It's a big improvement to the local environment and we're confident it'll bring more people to enjoy Mumbles."Mr Stewart, from Swansea council, said the project would defend residents and businesses in the area "for the next 100 years"."It also gives them a fantastic new seafront that can rival anything in the Mediterranean," he said.
The Independent
06-07-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Tropical Storm Chantal strengthens slightly as it nears landfall in South Carolina
Tropical Storm Chantal grew in strength as it approached the southeast U.S. coast. It's forecasted to bring heavy rains to parts of the Carolinas on Sunday. Tropical storm warnings were issued for portions of the two states, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm was about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Charleston, South Carolina, early Sunday, and 85 miles (136 kilometers) southwest of Wilmington, North Carolina. Its maximum sustained winds were clocked at 60 mph (96 kph), and it was moving north at 8 mph (13 kph). Rain bands from Chantal were moving onshore, the hurricane center said, with flash floods an increasing concern. The storm was expected to make landfall in South Carolina in the next few hours and weaken rapidly as it continues over land. Heavy rain was forecast for parts of North Carolina through Monday, with total rainfall of 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) and local amounts up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) that could lead to flash flooding. South Carolina's Emergency Management division had warned residents earlier of the possibility of isolated tornadoes along the coast and of minor coastal flooding. It also warned drivers not to venture on water-covered roads or around road-closure signs where flooding occurred.
CNN
16-05-2025
- Science
- CNN
A crucial system of ocean currents is slowing. It's already supercharging sea level rise in the US.
Flooding on the US Northeast coast has risen significantly as a critical network of Atlantic Ocean currents weakens, according to a new study — an alarming glimpse into the future as some scientists warn the current system could be just decades from collapse. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, known as the AMOC, works like a vast conveyor belt, transporting heat, salt and freshwater through the ocean and influencing climate, weather and sea levels around the planet. Coastal flooding is caused by a cluster of factors, chief among them climate change-driven sea level rise, but the AMOC also plays a critical role in the Northeast, according to the study published Friday in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Scientists used data from tide gauges — instruments which monitor sea level change — combined with complex ocean models to calculate how the AMOC has affected flooding in the region over the past decades. They found between 2005 and 2022, up to 50% of flooding events along the northeastern coast were driven by a weaker AMOC. Drilling down, that means AMOC-driven sea level rise contributed to up to eight flood days a year over this period. The models used by the scientists also give a glimpse into the future, allowing them to forecast coastal flooding frequency in the Northeast up to three years in advance, according to the study. The idea that the AMOC is influencing sea level rise in this region is not new, but this study is the first to find it's substantially affecting flood frequency, said Liping Zhang, a study author and project scientist at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There are two main reasons why the AMOC affects sea level rise, said David Thornally, professor of ocean and climate science at University College London, who was not involved in the research. A strong AMOC is typically associated with dense deep water that flows along the western boundary of the North Atlantic. When the AMOC weakens, water becomes less dense, literally taking up more space and fueling sea level rise. A weaker AMOC also affects the flow of the Gulf Stream, causing water to flow back onto the coastal shelf and increasing sea level rise at the coast. Rising seas are a huge and urgent issue for society as the climate warms, making it vital to better understand how it's being affected, Zhang told CNN. Coastal flooding can 'reshape the coastal environment… (and) poses threats to both lives and infrastructure in coastal regions,' she said. The findings will be very useful for helping society better predict and plan for costly and devastating flooding events, UCL's Thornally told CNN. 'A study like this is a good way to demonstrate the day-to-day impacts of changes AMOC, rather than invoking dramatic scenes from Hollywood disaster movies which are exaggerated and thus easily dismissed,' he told CNN, referring to the movie The Day After Tomorrow, which depicts the world plunging into a deep freeze after the AMOC collapses. As the research relies on climate models, the results will depend on how well these represent the physics of the real world, he cautioned. 'The high resolution means it probably does a good job — and it can mimic observed sea-level patterns — but it won't be perfect,' he said, especially as this is a complex area of the ocean where different currents meet. Gerard McCarthy, an oceanographer at Maynooth University in Ireland, also not involved in the research, said the study is significant because it shows 'how AMOC can help predict sea level extremes along this coast.' A slew of recent research has pointed to signs the AMOC could be on course to significantly weaken over the next decades as climate change warms oceans and melts ice, disrupting its delicate balance of heat and salinity. This would have catastrophic planetary impacts, including on sea level rise. 'The science is still not clear,' McCarthy said, but a collapse would be a 'high-impact event and it is critical that we know what to expect.'
