Boston was spared last year’s Hurricane Sandy storm surge, which caused such devastation along the New Jersey coast and parts of New York City.
But as the Boston Harbor Association (BHA) notes, it was more luck than planning that saved Boston.
Had the storm hit Boston five and a half hours earlier at high tide, the city would have experienced a 100-year coastal flood that could have swamped about 6 percent of its land area, including portions of every coastal neighborhood and the Harbor Islands.
With the flurry of development in Boston’s Seaport District over the past decade, city officials, residents, employers, employees and commercial property owners in the area should all be concerned about the potential for coastal flooding.
The BHA’s report, "Preparing for the Rising Tide," which was released last week, details the catastrophic outcome awaiting Boston if action is not taken to address climate change and rising sea levels.
By mid-century, sea levels in Boston are predicted to be up to two feet higher than today’s levels. By 2100, they could be as much as six feet higher. Once the sea level rises five feet, Boston will experience what is now considered a 100-year coastal flood twice a day during high tide. At that sea level, even a moderate storm surge could flood nearly a third of the city.
East Boston would be the neighborhood most severely affected, with more than 140 million square feet of land submerged.
Transportation centers, such as Logan Airport and MBTA stations, could be endangered by frequent tidal flooding, as well as centers of commerce, such as the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the Seaport World Trade Center and the Conley container port terminal. Many other buildings – from the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel to the University of Massachusetts Boston in Dorchester – are also vulnerable to future flood risks.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s swift call for action at a joint press conference with the BHA last week is a welcome sign that the city is serious about addressing climate change and mitigation.
The mayor – who has encouraged development at breakneck speed in Boston’s Seaport District – is ordering has ordered his cabinet to step up implementation of the city’s climate action plan.
Menino has also tasked the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) with surveying the preparedness of all buildings and properties, such as MBTA stations, likely to face increased flooding because of rising sea levels. And going forward, climate change preparedness will become a required design component for new developments in Boston.
A key part of addressing coastal flooding, however, lies with private property owners. Some commercial property owners, such as Boston Properties’ Senior Vice President and Regional Manager Bryan Koop, have already proclaimed their willingness to make cost-effective improvements to reduce their facilities’ risk for flooding damage.
The BHA’s report details steps all owners of coastal property should take, including determining how levels of future flooding will affect their properties by comparing existing site plans with maps of projected flooding depths.
Before the next pile is driven in Boston’s Seaport District – or anywhere else in or near the city’s coastal floodplain – commercial property owners should ensure that their planned and existing buildings are ready for the rising tide.
