In Miami-Dade County, developers had 1.6 million sq ft (149,000 sq m) of office space and 1.8 million of retail space under construction in the second quarter of 2016 alone. Recent studies have shown that Florida has more residents at risk from climate change than any other US state. In 2015, the US Census Bureau found that the population of all three counties here was growing – along with the rest of Florida – at around 8%, roughly twice the pace of the US average.
This 120-mile (193km) corridor running up the coast from Homestead to Jupiter – taking in major cities like Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach – is the eighth most populous metropolitan area in the US. One recent report estimated that Miami has the most to lose in terms of financial assets of any coastal city in the world, just above Guangzhou, China and New York City. The flooding would be a challenge for any community, but it poses particular risks here. “The consequences of sea level rise are going to occur way before the high tide reaches your doorstep,” says William Sweet, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). That means not only more flooding, but challenges for the infrastructure that residents depend on every day, from septic tanks to wells. With tides higher than they have been in decades – and far higher than when this swampy, tropical corner of the US began to be drained and built on a century ago – many of south Florida’s drainage systems and seawalls are no longer enough. The most frequently-used range of estimates puts the likely range between 15-25cm (6-10in) above 1992 levels by 2030, and 79-155cm (31-61in) by 2100. One reason is that water levels here are rising especially quickly. Sea levels are rising around the world, and in the US, south Florida is ground zero – as much for the adaptation strategies it is attempting as for the risk that it bears. And while places like the Solomon Islands and Kiribati are indeed facing particularly dramatic challenges, they aren’t the only ones being forced to grapple with the issue. It’s easy to think that the only communities suffering from sea level rise are far-flung and remote. Many will also tell you that it’s happening more and more frequently. Or: “It’s getting worse.” It’s not only his building: he’s also driven through a foot of water on a main road a couple of towns over and is used to tiptoeing around pools in the local supermarket’s car park.Īsk nearly anyone in the Miami area about flooding and they’ll have an anecdote to share. “The basement flooded again a couple weeks ago,” he’d sometimes say. When I called, I’d ask my dad how the building was doing. But no matter their value, the cars all wound up in the same place: the basement. For the residents who lived in the more lavish flats, these cars were often BMWs and Mercedes.
The marble lobby had a waterfall that never stopped running crisp-shirted valets parked your car for you. The building was an ocean-front high-rise in a small city north of Miami called Sunny Isles Beach. The first time my father’s basement flooded, it was shortly after he moved in. What you won’t find is any reference to, well, you-know-what. You’ll find everything from the story about the world’s greatest space mission to the truth about whether our cats really love us, the epic hunt to bring illegal fishermen to justice and the small team which brings long-buried World War Two tanks back to life. We’ll be revisiting our most popular features from the last three years in our Lockdown Longreads.
#MIAMI WEATHER FEEL LIKE SERIES#
So now we’re dedicating a series to help you escape. BBC Future has brought you in-depth and rigorous stories to help you navigate the current pandemic, but we know that’s not all you want to read.
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