Investing in Preparedness to Save Money and Manage the Impacts of Rising Seas

The Florida Keys face escalating tidal flooding due to rising sea levels, with projections suggesting Key West could experience 375 tidal flooding events annually by 2045. This threat endangers a $2.2 billion tourism industry, critical transport links like Key West International Airport and U.S. Route 1, and the region's freshwater supply. While Monroe County has implemented resilience measures, the document argues that federal funding for hazard mitigation and emissions reductions is essential to avoid long-term economic damage and habitat loss in the Everglades.

• Projections from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicate that sea levels in the Florida Keys will rise by 15 inches by 2045, leading to a significant increase in the frequency and duration of tidal flooding.
• Tidal flooding is projected to increase drastically by 2045: Key West could see 375 events per year, while Big Pine Key and Marathon (Vaca Key) could experience approximately 180 events per year.
• Rising seas threaten the primary economic driver of Monroe County, a tourism industry valued at $2.2 billion that supports over 32,000 jobs.
• Critical infrastructure is highly vulnerable; a one-foot sea-level rise could inundate 75% of hospitals, 71% of emergency shelters, and 65% of schools, while putting $2.76 billion of taxable property and 3,000 homes at risk.
• The region's primary freshwater supply and the ecology of the Everglades are at risk due to saltwater intrusion; every two-inch increase in sea level is expected to expose a one-mile-wide strip of freshwater Everglades wetland to saltwater.
• Essential transport access is precarious, as Key West International Airport and U.S. Route 1 are less than one foot above sea level in certain locations.
• Investing in pre-disaster preparedness is presented as a fiscally responsible strategy that saves money on recovery and creates jobs, noting that hazard-mitigation activities in Florida created 12,206 full-time-equivalent jobs between 2004 and 2011.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2015). Investing in Preparedness to Save Money and Manage the Impacts of Rising Seas. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/10/encroaching-tides-florida-keys.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Investing in Preparedness to Save Money and Manage the Impacts of Rising Seas. 2015. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/10/encroaching-tides-florida-keys.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Investing in Preparedness to Save Money and Manage the Impacts of Rising Seas |date=November 2015 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/10/encroaching-tides-florida-keys.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2015investing, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Investing in Preparedness to Save Money and Manage the Impacts of Rising Seas}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2015}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/10/encroaching-tides-florida-keys.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }