The NASA study is a warning that "nuisance floods" could become frequent fixtures across U.S. coastlines in the next decade.<br />Nuisance floods occur on coastlines when high tide levels exceed two feet above the norm, causing significant local flooding.<br />In 2019, close to 600 of these types of floods occurred in the U.S.<br />But the new NASA-led study predicts an increased frequency of nuisance floods of between three to four times that number.<br />According to the study, this is likely to begin as soon as the 2030s.<br />The increase will be due to several factors, including the rise in sea levels due to human-influenced climate change as well as a particular cycle of the moon's 18.6-year orbit around the Earth that causes higher tides across the board.<br />"[High-tide flooding will move] from a regional issue to a national issue with a majority of U.S. coastlines <br />being affected." NASA-led Study Authors, via Live Science.<br />"If it floods 10 or 15 times a month, a business can't keep operating with its parking lot under water. People lose their jobs because they can't get to work. Seeping cesspools become a public health issue." Phil Thompson, Assistant Professor University of Hawaii, via Live Science.<br />The authors of the study recommend that planning measures begin now in order to mitigate the worst effects of the increase in nuisance floods.
