Unsuited to climate change, Florida sinks into denial
On June 12, Hank Perez, 72, wanted to go home to North Miami Beach, but the rain had other plans. Seeing water up to the hood of his gray Toyota Yaris, he decided to pull over to a central reservation and call for help—which never arrived. That day, there were thousands of people like him, as 18 inches of rain fell on South Florida. Dubbed “Invest 90L,” the deluge was not the product of a tropical storm, but a waterspout that meteorologists say only occurs once in 200 years. It was the fourth time in as many years that Southeast Florida had been hit by such a phenomenon.
“Rain bombs” like Invest 90L are a consequence of global warming: warmer air masses have more space to store moisture. And all that water is coming down on the Miami area and its 6 million residents.
The gleaming city was built on drained marshland over porous limestone soils. Sea levels are rising, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimating that this could reach more than 11 inches in South Florida by 2040. Fair-weather flooding—when high tides cover low-lying land—has increased 400 percent since 1998, particularly since 2006. A powerful hurricane with a large tidal surge could displace 1 million people. Each year, the region seems less equipped to deal with these kinds of risks, despite the millions of dollars spent on adaptation.
Thirty years ago, when we were beginning to better understand the risks of climate change without yet being hit hard by them, it would have been possible to avoid the catastrophe in Miami. But while the concentration
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The Atlantic (Washington)
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