Week 13: Coastal Problems

This week I'm talking about Hong Kong's coastal problems, and the main issue they're facing is rising sea levels. Since the mid 19th century, the rate of sea-level rise has significantly increased, and this is because of many factors. However, the leading cause is global warming, which increases temperature and melting of ice and snow, resulting in a rise in mean sea level.

So what if the sea levels are rising? Well, elevated sea levels create risk for other hazards such as typhoon-generated storm surges. Storm surges rapidly increase the sea level due to low pressure and high winds from a tropical cyclone. Note that storm surges are more extreme if they occur during high tides, resulting in flooding of low-lying areas.

There is no plausible solution to stopping or slowing down the rising sea level as far as mitigation efforts go. The best course of action for Hong Kong is to be prepared for extreme storm surges. I've mentioned in other blog posts the different mitigations HK has in place to prevent flooding. This included many miles of storm drains and tunnels, they also have large storm water tanks. Hong Kong has invested heavily into preventing/ reducing floods as this country is very prone to it.

Sources:

https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/education/aviation-and-marine/aviation/00505-on-sea-level-rise-and-abnormal-sea-level-in-hong-kong.html