SACRAMENTO – (INT) - The California Natural Resources Agency is attempting to raise awareness about the urgent threat that sea level rise poses to coastal and inland communities.

While the tone of “The Ocean Is Moving In,” campaign is light-hearted, the messaging underscores the very serious impacts sea level rise will have on quality of life unless Californians start actively preparing:

• 60 percent of California beaches are highly vulnerable to sea level rise.
• $150 billion in California property is threatened by severe flooding.
• Salt-water intrusion could compromise groundwater and drinking supplies.
• Transportation hubs like the Pacific Coast Highway and San Francisco International Airport could be immobilized.

Californians place climate change very high on their list of concerns, recent research confirms. But despite the potential for harm, sea level rise lags behind more easily understood climate threats such as wildfires or rising temperatures.

The campaign aims to prioritize the issue by underscoring that seas are now predicted to rise as much as 7 feet by 2100.

Story Date: October 24, 2021