A hurricane or rising seas could “swallow” Miami

More than 3.5 million people are at risk of losing their homes Florida from hurricanes and rising sea levels, a problem of the present, not of the future, which already affects sectors such as real estate and insurance.

On the map of Thais López Vogel, co-founder of the VoLo Foundation, a Florida philanthropic organization that supports climate change research and projects, Florida is painted in “red color”.

Eight of the ten American cities which, according to VoLo’s projections, will be more severely affected from global warming in the coming years are the Floridians: You love meSt. Petersburg, Tampa, Bradenton, Jacksonville, Naples, Fort Myers and the Keys.

They are coastal cities that are in serious danger of a tsunami, a hurricane, or a combination of both “swallow them”.

“We always talk about the future, the year 2100, but I think that we have to talk about the present momentwhere there are more than three and a half million people they lose their home in Florida“Due to the severe flooding caused by the rising sea level, alert.

“There is a book that cites as an example one of the tallest buildings in Miami, where, in 2050, the water will reach up to the tenth floorit’s a very visual example, “he says.

Floods without rain, extreme heat and more powerful hurricanes

At the moment, they are already there the “floods on sunny days”, which is when the sea enters the sewers when it doesn’t even rain, says this lawyer who founded VoLo in 2014 with her husband, scientist David S. Vogel.

By 2050, he points out, “it is estimated that more than one million more people, or nearly five million, will be affected” in Florida.

Global warming, as well as rising sea levels, has an impact on hurricanespoints out.

“Hurricanes will happen normally, the problem now is that as we have more gas emissions into the atmosphere, not only do hurricanes become more powerful, but steam also builds up in the clouds and this causes more flooding,” explains Lopez.

Three named storms have occurred in the Atlantic basin so far in 2022, but still no hurricane, but even so the threat of an intense season remainsaccording to the US Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA’s updated forecast is 14 to 20 named storms, of which of 6 to 10 can reach hurricanes and of these between 3 and 5 would become “major”, that is category 3 or more on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

The good news is that NOAA has reduced the likelihood that the 2022 hurricane season will be busier than normal to 60%. Last May he estimated it would be 65%.

Everybody knows

The heat is another problem for Florida. According to López Vogel, this state has an average of 25 days of dangerous heat each year, but as of 2050, will be 130“more than in any other state” in the country, he stresses.

Not only is the real estate sector horribly affected by these forecasts: “Insurers are leaving Florida product of this, those who remain insured for more money and with less loss margin “.

“They know it, youEverybody knowsthe politicians know it, the people who invest know it, “he says.

López is convinced that the best solution to mitigate the impact of climate change is to establish a carbon tax and “let those who produce it pay for it”.

“The day they have to pay for it they will switch to clean energy. In Florida, which is ‘the state of the sun’, we will soon become ‘the state of emergency’, “she adds.

US Vice President Kamala Harris recently warned in Miami that “the climate crisis has come, it has come” and it is urgent to treat it as a global emergency, for which the White House will allocate this year. over $ 1,000 million for projects to combat the climate crisis.

López indicates that it is also necessary to create awareness about climate change. “Must put it in the papers every day and on the internet “, says the founder of VoLo, based in the coastal city of Jupiter (Southeast Florida) and whose collaborators are scientists, meteorologists and social communicators.

“We focus 70% of our work on the climate problem andor we do it for our 6 children; As a mother, the first thing in the world that interests me is the well-being of my children, “she said.

The author is an EFE journalist

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