Let’s be clear, the year 2100 is a long ways off. Assuming we don’t cure death and/or learn how to time travel, none of us are going to be around for it.
Neither are some of Seattle’s waterfront homes, according to a report by Zillow this week.
The real estate company decided to crunch some numbers about rising sea levels and how that will affect American coastlines and major cities in the coming century. Using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data and assuming that sea levels will rise six feet by 2100, as is estimated by some if no changes are made regarding climate change, they’ve been able to deduce that almost 1.9 million homes and 36 U.S. cities would be lost altogether.
Washington’s coastal cities would be looking at roughly 31,215 lost homes, which comes out to $13 billion in total property losses.
Here in Seattle, homes along all coastlines (Lake Washington, Puget Sound, Lake Union) would be affected. Ultimately, they foresee 1,663 current homes worth a total of $2.3 billion would be underwater. That’s 0.9 percent of all homes in Seattle.
Of course, this whole model assumes no changes are made between now and then and there’s a good chance Seattle will look very different by the time 2100 comes around. Most of those homes would probably be gone or remodeled for future generations (we hope). Nobody in 2100 wants to live in a clunker from 2016, especially if it’s got 100 years of water-based wear and tear on it.
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