Is Tampa Bay prepared for sea-level rise?
In a major news story last month, the Washington Post looked at this exact question. It begins: “Tampa Bay’s coming storm. The area is due for a major hurricane, and it is not prepared. If a big one scores a direct hit, the damage would likely surpass Katrina.”
Let’s leave aside for a second the fact that the area is not “due” – the odds of a future hurricane don’t increase if it’s been a long time since the last one. But, whoa, hat a wake-up call that should be. More than 1,200 people died in Hurricane Katrina and parts of New Orleans were changed forever.
Joining us in the studio for the hour is Melissa Baldwin, the founder of Chase Media Services, a communications company that specializes in sustainability and climate change.
We started with a quote from the article:
“Tampa Bay is mesmerizing, with 700 miles of shoreline and some of the finest white sand beaches in the nation. But analysts say the metropolitan area is the most vulnerable in the United States to flooding and damage if a major hurricane ever scores a direct hit. A Boston firm that analyzes potential catastrophic damage reported that the region would lose $175 billion in a storm the size of Hurricane Katrina. A World Bank study called Tampa Bay one of the 10 most at-risk areas on the globe.”
Also from the WaPo:
“Tampa Bay hasn’t suffered a direct hit from a hurricane as powerful as a category 3 or higher in nearly a century. Tampa has doubled down on a bet that another won’t strike anytime soon, investing billions of dollars in high-rise condominiums along the waterfront and shipping port upgrades and expanding a hospital on an island in the middle of the bay to make it one of the largest in the state.”
They’re referring, at least in part, to a major $3 billion development planned for downtown Tampa, called Water Street Tampa. It’s headed by Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and funded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ investment fund and also will get funds from Tampa taxpayers. About 2 years ago WMNF News asked Vinik if it was wise to build at sea-level in downtown Tampa. His response seemed vague and lacked details.
