Today and as sea level continues to rise in the future, extreme high tide events cause Honolulu, Hawai‘i’s primary urban center to experience flooding not just from water washing directly over the shoreline, but also from groundwater inundation as the water table is pushed toward the surface, and reverse flow through the municipal drainage system.
Today and as sea level continues to rise in the future, extreme high tide events cause Honolulu, Hawai‘i’s primary urban center to experience flooding not just from water washing directly over the shoreline, but also from groundwater inundation as the water table is pushed toward the surface, and reverse flow through the municipal drainage system. In a study published in Scientific Reports, researchers at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, found in the next few decades, sea level rise will likely cause large and increasing percentages of land area to be impacted simultaneously by the three flood mechanisms.
Further, they found that groundwater inundation represents the most extensive flood source, while direct marine inundation represents the least extensive—only three percent of the predicted flooding.
“This is significant because many people think that sea level rise can be mitigated by seawalls,” said Shellie Habel, lead author of the study and coastal geologist and extension agent with the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program and UH Coastal Geology Group. “But a seawall will not stop groundwater inundation. Our results highlight the need to readjust our thinking regarding the flooding that accompanies sea level rise. We want to be sure to implement flood management strategies that will be effective at mitigating flooding.”
Read more at University Of Hawaii At Manoa
Image: Vehicles drive through a flooded road in Honolulu. CREDIT: Hawaii and Pacific Islands King Tides Project
