A new analysis shows dozens of critical infrastructure sites such as hospitals, schools, and police and fire stations will be exposed to disruptive flooding in the coming years.“Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience,”
Among them are Atlantic Beach’s City Hall and Police Department, Pablo Hamlet affordable senior housing in Jacksonville Beach, and three sites housing chemicals near JaxPort. “When we look at the years between now and 2050, the amount of sea level rise is relatively certain. We can see this coming, and we need to be planning for it,” said Kristina Dahl, Principal Climate Scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.
But the report shows by 2100, the risk of twice-a-year flooding expands to additional sites, even under a scenario of relatively low sea level rise. Those sites include Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside hospital, the JEA Northside generating station on Heckscher Drive, Jacksonville Beach Fire and Rescue and Atlantic Beach Elementary.