This summer’s remaining rounds of king tides — the highest tides that occur around solstices — are slated for July 22-23 and Aug. 19-20. On these days, camera-carrying volunteers with the ongoing Hawaii and Pacific Islands King Tides project will fan out along low-lying areas to document expected flooding and high-water levels. It’s an increasingly important mission.
The images help identify future coastal hazards and provide a grim glimpse of what shoreline areas could look like on a regular basis in the future due, in part, to sea level rise. According to a newly published study (Nature Climate Change journal), Hawaii and other U.S. coastal regions will experience an accelerating number of high-tide flooding days starting in the mid-2030s.
In Honolulu, there were 15 nuisance flooding events in 2017, the most on record to that point, with sections of Waikiki beaches and Mapunapuna among the hardest-hit areas. The study’s lead author, Phil Thompson, director of the University of Hawaii’s Sea Level Center and assistant professor of oceanography, forecasts that the city will experience between 56 and 150 of the “record” level nuisance days per year by the mid-’40s.
Given that escalating direct flooding from the ocean — as well as flooding emerging from the ground, known as groundwater inundation, and storm-drain back-flow — will likely be a statewide problem, state lawmakers showed a bit of needed foresight in supporting House Bill 243, which is poised to become law.
The measure requires the Office of Planning to work with state departments to identify existing and planned facilities that are vulnerable to the increased flooding and more powerful storms, and assess options such as flood-proofing or relocating buildings and infrastructure inland. Statewide, an estimated 6,500 structures located along shorelines could be damaged or destroyed with 3.2 feet of sea level rise, which could occur by 2060.
While several agencies backed the bill’s intent, they also balked at its absence of funding for carrying out prep work. The cash-strapped Legislature, meanwhile, has expressed hope that initiating pursuit of a well-thought-out plan for “sea level rise adaption” will help qualify Hawaii for future federal funding tied to President Joe Biden’s push for infrastructure upgrades across the nation. Let’s hope so.
Meanwhile, volunteers can do their bit by participating in the King Tides project — see opportunities via the Sea Grant College Program online, https://seagrant.soest.hawaii.edu Opens in a new tab.
