More than 15,000 buildings and 250 miles of roads on the South Coast may be inundated by a 10-year storm event as soon as 2050, according to The Trustees’ third annual State of the Coast report. A 100-year storm is expected to affect more than 21,000 buildings and 360 miles of roads in the same timeframe, and impact ecosystems crucial to coastal resilience.
“The impacts of flooding and storm surge may be significant in this region,” notes Cynthia Dittbrenner, Trustees Director of Coast and Natural Resources. “In addition to impacts projected to our homes, businesses, and infrastructure, projections show vast losses of coastal salt marshes. When natural landscapes like salt marsh deteriorate, so does the overall resilience of our coastlines to storm surge and sea level rise.”
The 44-page report highlights the climate change-driven impacts of sea level rise and storm flooding faced by the Buzzards Bay and Narragansett-Bay facing towns on the South Coast of Massachusetts. These include impacts to beaches, salt marsh, developed areas like harbors and business districts, working waterfronts, and habitats in Falmouth, Bourne, Wareham, Marion, Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, New Bedford, Dartmouth, Westport, Fall River, Somerset, Swansea, Rehoboth, and Seekonk.
Download the report by clicking the image to the left, or explore the digital version of the report for interactive maps and additional data.
