If you live next to the sea, be warned, if not tsunamis the rising oceans could take away your home. A sudden surge in rising sea levels is all that it takes. The lives of over 1 billion people living in low-lying areas are at stake. A devastation far worse then the 2004 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
New mapping techniques show how much land would be lost and how many people affected by rapid sea level rises that are often triggered by storms and earthquakes, a U.S. Geological Survey-led team determined.
The team also found that a 100-foot rise in sea level would cover 3.7-million square miles of land worldwide. A rise of just 16 feet would affect 669-million people and 2-million square miles of land would be lost.
Sea levels are currently rising about 0.04 to 0.08 inches each year, making it unlikely such a scenario would suddenly occur across the globe, 10,000 years ago sea levels rose 20 metres in 500 years - a relatively short span - after the collapse of the continental ice sheets.
Mr E. Lynn Usery, who led the team said:
It can happen in a short period of time if we look at the historical data.
A lot of the people the world over are living in harms way and need to be warned. Many nations need to put contingency plans in place.
Source: Reuters
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