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Wait, What? 1/3rd of the English coast will be vulnerable to rising sea levels in future.
Scientists are vehemently nodding their heads to signal that this is going to happen over the next few decades, while the Government has clarified that not every property can be saved.
Per this BBC report, the highest number of properties with flood risk is spread along the North West, South West and East Anglia. By 2050, around 160,000 properties will have to be relocated.
And that’s assuming just a 2C temperature increase by 2100. There are another 30-35,000 properties already marked with the risk tag.
The big issues
While barriers and embankments continue to be erected in London in response to rising sea levels, communities like Happisburgh are already at severe risk.
The crux of the dilemma lies in the insufficient funds available to safeguard every zone. Happisburgh is unlikely to get anymore funding for bulking up its defences amidst a rapidly-diminishing coastline.
💡 Fyi, Happisburgh represents the bigger picture that’s plaguing England. Action groups and campaigns have sprung up, but the future looks uncertain.
Folks are still hoping for a plan where the Government pays market prices for homes about to be swallowed by the sea. Last we heard, this was a 2009 strategy under the Pathfinder project.
What could happen?
The rest of the UK could follow the Pathfinder model. Northern Norfolk has got itself a £36 million Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme for buffer zones and is relocating people from high-risk land. More such programmes are expected in other zones throughout the country.
But a question still looms large - climate change is a collective outcome of human actions over 4-5 decades or more. However, why are only people in coastal areas paying for it today?
📌 P:S: That last question was just for effect. Life is unfair. Deal with it.