WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — More US cities are likely to experience a higher number of nuisance flooding into April amid a rise in sea levels and greater frequency in storms, a US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report revealed.
"We know that nuisance flooding is happening more often because of rising sea levels, but it is important to recognize that weather and ocean patterns brought on by El Niño can compound this trend," NOAA scientist William Sweet said.
NOAA predicts that the cities in the mid-Atlantic and West Coast regions of the United States could experience as much as a 33 to 125 percent increase in the amount of nuisance flooding days.
NOAA found that the city of Norfolk, Virginia is likely to experience a 125 percent increase in nuisance flood days in 2015 with El Niño over a projected eight days.
Meanwhile, Atlantic City, New Jersey is likely to see a 33 percent increase over 27 days and San Francisco, California, a 75 percent increase over 12 days.
Since the 1960s, the United States has experienced a 300 percent to 925 percent increase in nuisance tidal flooding, which will likely "cross inundation tipping points in the coming decades as tides become higher and sea level rise," NOAA argued.
Nuisance flooding refers to flooding that causes public inconveniences including road closures, crowded storm drains and damage to infrastructure.
