Accelerated sea level rise threatens southern U.S. coastal communities

Sea-level rise along the southeastern coast of the US has accelerated rapidly since 2010, with an average rise of 1 centimeter per year, according to a study published in Nature Communications. This is double the rate of average global sea-level rise during the same period and has raised concerns that tens of millions of Americans' homes in cities across the South will be at risk from flooding in the coming decades. Hurricanes have had a more severe impact due to higher sea levels, and the rate of high-tide flooding has more than doubled on the Gulf Coast and Southeast coast since the beginning of this century.