美国国家公共电台 NPR--Floods are getting more common. Do you know your risk?

Floods are getting more common. Do you know your risk?

Transcript¹

Climate change is driving more flooding around the country, and the cost of flood damage to homes can be enormous, according to a pair of new analyses that look at the risks and costs of coastal² floods in the U.S.

The findings could hardly be more timely: thousands of households are reeling after floods killed dozens of people in Appalachia and destroyed homes in St. Louis and Arizona last week. And peak hurricane season is looming³ in the Atlantic.

Flooding associated with sea level rise is accelerating, according to an annual report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁴ Administration. Ocean water is inundating⁵ coastal cities during high tides, even when there is no storm.

"Sea level rise impacts are happening now, and are growing rapidly," explains William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer and one of the authors of the report.

The number of days when so-called sunny day floods occur is accelerating on the East and Gulf⁶ coasts. For example, in 2021 the Northeast experienced an average of 8 high tide flood days, which is a 200% increase compared to the number of flood days in the year 2000.

In the future, such floods could become routine, federal data suggest. By 2050, high tides could send water into neighborhoods dozens of days each year, according to the report.

Sea levels are rising more quickly in some parts of the U.S., such as the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast. The risk is highest in places where the water is rising and the land is also falling. That's happening very quickly in Louisiana and Texas, as humans pump out oil, gas and drinking water, and the land collapses⁷ because of that extraction.

"[In] that part of the country, the land is sinking," Sweet says . "And it's sinking at rate, in some areas, faster than the ocean itself is rising."

That has led to a rapid increase in the number of sunny days with water in the streets. For example, the area around Galveston, Texas has gone from an average of three high tide flood days 20 years ago, to 14 such flood days last year, to a projected 170 days or more by the year 2050. That means, every other day there would be a flood in the Galveston area.

Rising seas also exacerbate⁸ flooding during hurricanes. That's because storms push more ocean water onto land. Salt water also fills underground drainage pipes, which means rainwater backs up and collects in streets, parking lots and basements. And climate change is causing more rain to fall during storms, which can cause flash floods.

It all adds up to a dramatic increase in flood damage to homes. And floods are extremely expensive. In the last 10 years, floods have caused at least $50 billion in damage in the U.S.

But what does that mean for people living on the front lines of flooding? A new analysis commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense⁹ Council estimates that flood damage can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a household, and that many home buyers are unaware¹⁰ of that potential cost.

The new report looks at housing and flood data for three flood-prone coastal states: New York, New Jersey¹¹ and North Carolina, and estimates that about 29,000 homes that flooded in the past were sold in 2021.

Actuaries used housing and flood models to estimate the future cost of flood damage for those homes. They predict that homeowners in North Carolina could suffer at least $35,000 in flood damage over the course of a 30-year mortgage. In New Jersey and New York, where homes are more expensive, the cost of future flood damage is even higher.

"I think by putting a price on that amount of damage, it really shows just how vulnerable home buyers can be, owning a previously¹² flooded home," says Joel Scata, who studies flood risk at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

He says they focused on those three states because home buyers there receive little or no information about a home's flood history.

"The disclosure laws in these three states are inadequate¹³ because they don't explicitly¹⁴ require home sellers to tell buyers whether a house is previously flooded, or the amount of times that the house has previously flooded," Scata explains. Other states, such as Texas and Louisiana, do require disclosure of flood risk information during home sales.

NPR analyzed¹⁵ flood disclosure laws across the country in 2020 and found that living in a flood-prone area without knowing it can be financially devastating¹⁶, especially for low-income households and those who rent.

"It's really important for home buyers to have a right to know the flood risk that they might face," says Scata. "The damages can be so high, it can be financially ruinous."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

4 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

5 inundating   

v.淹没( inundate的现在分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• Floodwaters are inundating states up and down the Eastern Seaboard. 洪水淹没了东部沿海各州。 来自互联网
• Their invasion of the city effecttidal wave inundating first the immigrant colonies. 他们的涌入城市，象潮头一样首先淹没了移民地带。 来自互联网

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

8 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

11 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

14 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

15 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。