The Tide Is Rising

Just last Friday, The Boston Metro did a front-page story on climate-change related flood dangers to the greater Boston area, including the expected storm surge increasing over the next 90 years. That day, Blizzard Nemo began, and ended up dumping almost 3 feet of snow on us. It seems appropriate that they named it Nemo, rather than Frosty, since the snow had barely ended before the rain began. I spent as much time wading through ice water at intersections today as I did sliding down the icy sidewalks.

I have never owned rubber boots before, but I have to say, I’m beginning to think I might just need to make that an investment, because I am pretty sure that this kind of Extreme(-ly Wet) Weather Event is only going to be more common in the coming years.

And as my financial advisor is encouraging me to buy my own place, this is one of the concerns that I am trying to figure out how to bring to conversations at open houses, for instance. I have found that when I bring up the topic of flooding into general conversations with friends, the response I often hear is that as long as I don’t live on the first floor or near the Charles River, I should be fine.

 

That seems a little naïve to me. After the Blizzard of ’78, when the snow melted and the rain came, our basement flooded, and so although the living areas weren’t affected, the cracked basement floor can’t be uncracked, and the problem of rising damp at least only grows worse over time.

I can only hope that, as the general public becomes more aware of these kinds of issues, more informed responses will become more available.