According to a research paper published on March 18, 2016, in ‘Nature Climate Change’, it has been learned that more than 13 million Americans will become the victims of the flood by 2100.
These findings clearly indicate that the number of Americans displaced by rising sea levels will be tripled by the end of this century.
Scientists have carefully studied and monitored the climatic changes which are happening the coastal areas of U.S, and finally, they have come to this conclusion.
Unlike previous research, researchers have considered the rate of rising population in coastal regions while conducting this research.
Mathew Hauer from the University of Georgia is the lead author of the study. He told that the United States of America will witness huge scale migration from coastal areas if we are not deploying effective measures to combat sea level rise.
He also added that sea level rise is at its peak now, when compared to the last 28 centuries. The southern region of America is more prone to flooding within the next seventy or eighty years.
An estimated count of 4.9 million people will be displaced if the sea rises to 2.9 feet, and this number will be increased to a mammoth 13.1 million if the sea rises 5.9 feet.
The study also recommends authorities to take protective measures which include dikes and man-made buffer islands to combat this problem.
Earlier, The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have predicted that sea level will rise by 8 inches by the end of this century. They have also made it clear that this measurement will vary depending on the rate of polar ice melt.
Florida will be the state which will be more affected in this disastrous situation. The study predicts that this displacement will be quite similar to the 20th century’s Great Migration of more than 6 million African Americans to the South.
