What Happens Next?

A quick note to relay a sobering set of statistics related to my earlier posts about the increasing frequency of major flooding in Ellicott City, Maryland.  In many ways, this is indicative of the situation worldwide; and where, tragically, one life was lost in each of the two most recent EC floods, the repercussions of this upward trend in climate-related disasters have the potential to affect millions of human beings over the next decades.

Climate mitigation efforts won't resolve this problem in time to prevent further catastrophes. It's time to wake up to the serious need for adaptation efforts before it's too late.  Climate researcher Thea Dickinson @adapt2climate tweeted this excellent graphic. I'll let it speak for itself, other than to ask the question: What happens next?

In a commentary following the 2018 flood, "Preservation Maryland" posted an article that put the flooding in perspective and helped explain how the climate issues (affecting the last 100 years or so) are exacerbated now by the development problems around Ellicott City, threatening to increase the frequency and severity of these events exponentially.  They write:

"Unlike many of the previous floods, both the 2016 and 2018 floods have descended from the top of Ellicott City and raced downward — not inundating the city from below, but instead cascading down through the city from the top. The change has resulted in more ferocious, damaging and life-threatening floods. The change has also prompted a serious and ongoing conversation about how best to mitigate the impacts and make Ellicott City more resilient. It’s a conversation that must be resolved soon as storms intensify."