848 Hampton Roads homes could be underwater by 2030, scientists say.
Millions of dollars of property would be lost and thousands of people displaced in South Hampton Roads in just over a decade under flooding and sea level rise scenarios predicted in a nationwide report released Monday.
It comes from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit founded in 1969 that advocates for government solutions based in science.
The group used property data from online real estate company Zillow to assess homes at risk of frequent tidal flooding in the coastal United States.
By 2030, $838 million worth of Virginia residential properties are at risk of becoming chronically inundated by high tides – flooding 26 or more times a year even without storms, according to the report. That includes more than 6,000 people currently residing in them, and more than $8 million in property taxes.
South Hampton Roads accounts for $238 million of those properties, with 848 homes and 1,935 people in them. That means $3.6 million in property tax loss.
Of the five cities, Chesapeake has the most homes at risk: 286, many in Greenbrier and South Norfolk, worth more than $72 million. Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Portsmouth could lose 263, 248 and 50 homes, respectively.