Flood iQ Adds New England States
ME, NH, MA, and RI residents can now search for their flood risks ______________________________________________________
We are excited to announce the completion of all New England coastal states on Flood iQ! Users from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island can now search for their property or city’s flood risk on Flood iQ. These four new states join the seven existing coastal states on FloodiQ.com, including Connecticut.
With concerns for sea level rise and flooding in New England growing, this expansion for Flood iQ is timely. Flooding has gone up by 200–400% nationally in just the last 20 years and combined properties at risk from frequent tidal flooding in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island total over 1.7 million, with over $403.1 million in relative home values missed out on between 2005 and 2017.
Massachusetts
With 22 record flood days being reported from mid 2017 through mid 2018 in Boston alone, Massachusetts is greatly at risk from frequent tidal flooding as well as record high tides. This puts streets, sewer systems, drinking water, homes, and cars at risk, but also threatens property values. Even though the sea level off the coast of Massachusetts’ has only risen around 3 and a half inches, tidal flooding has increased by 267% since 2000. Since 2005, the state has collectively lost about $273 million from coastal property value loss due to flooding from sea level rise. The area with the greatest relative lost in property values is Salisbury, MA, with over $35,895,360 lost since 2005.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island is particularly susceptible to flooding because the state has 384 miles of shoreline that is host to 21 coastal communities. Sinking land is causing sea levels off Rhode Island to rise more rapidly than other states, which is causing flood events to worsen. Highest annual tides are already rising up to 2 feet higher than normal, bringing large amounts of water into streets, parking lots, and homes. There are already nearly 253,000 properties at risk from tidal flooding in Rhode Island, and homes in state have lost more than $44 million in unrealized property value. Even though the sea level has only risen by around 3 and a half inches, tidal flooding has increased by 300% in the state since 2000.
New Hampshire
Even though New Hampshire has the least amount of tide-influenced coastline in the country with less than 20 miles, communities along the coast are still experiencing flood events that endanger homes, cars, streets, and habitats. Just 2 inches of sea level rise has caused tidal flooding to increase by 260% since 2000, which is impacting not only the lives of residents, but also property values. Since 2005, New Hampshire properties have missed out on $15 million in unrealized home value. There are already 26,200 properties at risk from frequent tidal flooding in New Hampshire, a number that is expected to keep rising as sea levels rise.
Maine
Due to sea level rise, ocean water is overflowing more often into the streets during high tides and storms, which puts Maine’s coastal communities at great risk from flooding. In January, the state saw its third highest tide on record, at nearly 14 feet. Even though the sea level around Maine’s coast has risen only 2 and a half inches since 2000, tidal flooding has increased by 180%. Homes in the state have lost more than $69 million in unrealized relative property values since 2005. There are already over 269,000 properties at risk from frequent tidal flooding in Maine, as well as a $3.5 billion tourism economy and countless dune and coastal wetland habitats.
We are excited to offer this much needed tool to help the communities of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island find their flood risks. With resources like Flood iQ and SeaLevelRise.org, citizens will be better informed and equipped to take proactive steps to combat sea level rise and to advocate for action at the municipal and state level.
We will continue to add states to Flood iQ with the hopes of one day offering flood risk data to all coastal communities. Look out for our next expansion to Texas, which will complete our data availability for the entire Gulf Coast!
We love feedback and are always trying to improve. Comment below or email us at info@floodiq.com.
