How Would Rising Water Affect You?
@DeborahDiane (40064)
Laguna Woods, California
April 12, 2017 9:40pm CST
Recently I read an article which said that the ocean had risen about 8 inches over the past 100 years because of the heat generated since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
The article also said that scientists believe the ocean will rise about one foot over the next 20 to 30 years. The ocean will rise approximately one meter (more than three feet) over the next 80 years.
One thing many people do not realize is that rising water does not just affect the oceans of the world. The rivers that flow into the ocean will also rise. The streams the run into those rivers will rise, too.
Flooding, even hundreds of miles from the ocean, will become more severe as flood waters cover much larger areas.
Our military has declared that global warming has the potential to affect our military readiness and is a danger to our nation's security. On some of our military bases, including Norfolk, sailors cannot get to our ships at high tide because the roads on the base are flooded.
Even if you live on a hill far from a stream, do you drive over or beside any waterways in order to go to work or to the store? Do you live where roads occasionally get washed out? Do you live near a lake which could rise?
In my area, I live on a hill, but several of the nearby streets flood during heavy rains. The downtown area of Laguna Beach is at sea level and has flooded in the past. It could easily happen again. I expect the trend to get worse during the coming years.
How would rising water affect you and the area where you live?
16 people like this
15 responses
@PatZAnthony (14752)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
13 Apr 17
It is a huge issue here @DeborahDiane and somehow someone is working on it (years now) and hoping to fix things. Like most places, the plans put into place decades ago did not address the future.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
13 Apr 17
@PatZAnthony - Yes, a lot of infrastructure around the world will have to be redesigned and rebuilt over the next couple of decades ... yet our Federal government is pretty much ignoring the problem.
@LadyDuck (459212)
• Switzerland
14 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane In Italy there 33 areas that risk serious problems due to the rising waters. The most dangerous area are on the East along the coasts of the Adriatic Sea from Trieste to Ravenna, followed my the coast on the Mediterranean from Tuscany to Naples, Sardinia and Sicily are risky areas too.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Apr 17
@LadyDuck - If the ocean rises the way they expect, the world is going to look much different in 100 years. Some cities will be saved, at great expense. Some others may be abandoned. I won't live long enough to see all the changes, but I think my grandkids will.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Apr 17
@LadyDuck - Yes, most of Switzerland is well above sea level. I believe that parts of Italy could be severely affected, as well as coastal areas around the world. In the U.S., Florida will be severely affected. Some people believe the entire state could be under water in another century.
3 people like this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
13 Apr 17
I live on an island and so rising water would be a serious problem.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
13 Apr 17
@1hopefulman - Yes, some islands will cease to exist and become much smaller. A friend of mine visited Key West, Florida last year and she said that her hotel was an island during periods of high tide. Things will only get worse.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
18 Apr 17
It will be quite a few years before my area is affected by rising flood waters or the oceans rising, DD.
Hmmm.... again, DD you really should consider moving here! I believe I've told you that I live on the Ozarks Plateau. The city of Aurora, where I live, is 1400 feet above sea level. The city of Aurora is built on the highest point for (I think.) forty miles around. The lowest part of my state is 240 feet above sea level.
You know, I have told you before we have a walk-in garage. It wouldn't take much work to make it into a nice mini-apartment.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
19 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane Well, I WAS going to let you bring him along for the ride... Now, I think, when you show up begging to stay in my garage, I'll have to think of a good tease before I give you the key!!!!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Apr 17
@DaddyEvil - Ha ha! If California falls in the ocean, and we have time to get out, we could really appreciate the invitation! LOL 
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
18 Apr 17
@DaddyEvil - Sounds like you and Pretty are very secure in avoiding the worst effects of climate change. Thanks for the offer, but I think I will pass on the offer of a mini-apartment in your garage. I don't think my husband would appreciate me taking you up on your offer! LOL
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Apr 17
@JudyEv - Then it is possible that your road could become impassible sometime in the future ... perhaps not in our lifetimes, but someday.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Apr 17
@JudyEv - I think that rising water could affect people much more than they think. If nothing else, taxes could go up as states and countries try to rescue as many cities as possible. Streets and roads might have to be raised in places. Houses might have to be jacked up and put on stilts. Some people would have to be relocated. I'm sure it will be very disruptive.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (326126)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane That's true. On this occasion a drain had blocked up but that could easily happen again.
2 people like this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
14 Apr 17
We live very close to Lake Ontario and all its creeks and rivers and so would be greatly affected!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Apr 17
@Marymargll - I have heard the Great Lakes, and the areas around them, could experience some major changes over the next few decades. I wonder if people will look back at this period of time, right now, and wish they had made different choices ... given more support to the EPA, committed more money towards green sources of energy, and worked harder to reduce our carbon footprint. Some people will say, "if only we had known." The truth is, however, that we do know.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
15 Apr 17
@MarymargII - People won't believe it is really going to happen until it actually does. Then, it could take centuries to correct. I'm afraid our children and grandchildren could be in for some major dislocations. They and their generation will pay the price.
1 person likes this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
15 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane I feel that people don't want to talk about it and aren't alarmed as much as they should be. Perhaps they don't care or believe it- who knows?
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130122)
• India
13 Apr 17
I am not particularly anxious about anything that happens over which I have no control.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Apr 17
@allknowing - That is a healthy attitude. If we can't control it, we should not be anxious about it. However, they say we can all slow down the process if we use fewer fossil fuels, so we can all make a difference in our own way.
1 person likes this
@toniganzon (72279)
• Philippines
13 Apr 17
My grade school teacher had once told us about this and that didn't worry me at all. Though I don't live near the sea, I know that in many years to come, the place where my house is will be under water. However, when that day comes, I won't be alive anymore and I doubt if my son would still stay in the same place too.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Apr 17
@toniganzon - I think that is probably true. Billions of people around the world will relocate to avoid the rising water.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
14 Apr 17
@jaboUK - Yes, I think people who live in an area that floods now can only expect things to get worse. I know of several people who live at sea level who are very concerned.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (49132)
• United States
15 Apr 17
We are like me you and live on a hill, but there are roads not far from us that flood.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
15 Apr 17
@Tamp_girl7 - I think a lot of people in the next 20 or 30 years will discover that the areas around them are going to be difficult to cross when it rains a lot. Some scientists fear the problems will just get worse and worse. I guess we will all need to live on hills in the future!
@antonbunot (11092)
• Calgary, Alberta
24 Apr 17
Rising water level is due to global warming! Global warming is a reality which should not be ignored by leaders of the world.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
24 Apr 17
@antonbunot - I agree completely that global warming is a reality which should not be ignored. Bloomberg pointed out today that it could soon become impossible to sell coastal homes long before the ocean begins to damage them.
@JamesHxstatic (29270)
• Eugene, Oregon
16 Apr 17
With the many rivers, lakes and bridges in Oregon, rising waters could be disastrous. Some nearby areas flood during nearly normal rain years.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29270)
• Eugene, Oregon
17 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane That is for certain.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
17 Apr 17
@JamesHxstatic - If some areas are already flooding, it looks like it will only get worse. Scary thought, isn't it?
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
17 Apr 17
@DianneN - Our generation will probably not live long enough to see tremendous change, but our grandchildren certainly may. It is scary to think of.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Apr 17
@DianneN - I hope that governments around the world take some common sense measure to minimize the damage.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247205)
• United States
19 Apr 17
@DeborahDiane I've thought of that and it is scary.
1 person likes this
@tch12345 (17)
• Lucknow, India
23 May 17
Yes rising sea level is a major problem associated with Global warming. Because of which many low lying areas like island countries like Maldives in Indian ocean and other group of island countries like New Zealand are under the pressure of drowning in the future. Thus it is the cumulative effort of all the countries which can stop it from happening.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
23 May 17
@tch12345 - If I lived in the Maldives or along low-lying coastal areas in other countries, I would be very, very worried. We all need to slow down carbon emissions.
@DeborahDiane (40064)
• Laguna Woods, California
13 Apr 17
@jstory07 - I think a lot of people who live far from the ocean think the rising water will not affect them ... but they could be in for a serious surprise.
