Those of us who live in low-lying places like Dhaka, New York City or Dresden know what a storm surge looks like: subways flooding, houses washed away, people left homeless, and disrupted lives and livelihoods. Hurricane Sandy alone, fueled by Atlantic Ocean waters that were 5 degrees warmer than normal, cause over $60 billion in destruction, and left tens of thousands homeless. A new report from  CoreLogic details how 16 cities on the East and Gulf coasts of the US might fare with sea-level rise and climate-fueled storm surges. The numbers are staggering. All told, 4.2 million homes are at risk of storm surges in these areas, which represents about $1.1 trillion of property. The likelihood of these kinds of dangerous and costly surges is intensified by sea-level rise, as represented by the blue maps. For those that say the costs of transitioning to clean energy are too onerous, these maps and the background data help paint a picture of the costs of inaction.  You can pick up a copy of the CoreLogic report here.

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