According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a large number of homes in South Florida will face almost daily flooding within many of our lifetimes.
Everyone knows sea level rise will increase the risk of flooding caused by tropical storm surge, but these scientists took a look at regular inundation that will never stop even when there are no storms.
By 2045, nearly 64,000 homes in Florida face flooding every other day. Half of those are in South Florida. [...]
These numbers, released in a report compiled by the Union of Concerned Scientists, used housing information from Zillow and a flood model from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that predicts 6 1/2 feet of sea rise by the end of the century.
By the end of the century, Florida’s number of at-risk homes jump from 64,000 to a million. In 2100, the report said, about 1 in 10 homes in Florida will face flooding every other day. That puts the Sunshine State at the top of the list nationwide for homes at risk.
Obviously, adding a tropical storm surge on top of this regular, everyday flooding will be catastrophic in many cases.
I'm not a scientist, but I can't help but think these are conservative numbers and that it won't actually take another 20 years for this to happen. Regular flooding of the roadway is already a real problem in parts of Miami beach.
In any case, you may want to reconsider if you were planning to retire on a beach in Florida.