A new report put out by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and insurance giant Allianz offers harrowing details about the ravages that rising sea levels will wreak on coastal cities in the US.

The report says that a likely 26 inch rise in the sea level by 2050 along the northeast US coast could jeopardize assets worth close to $7.4 trillion. The study calculates the damage to each city, and Miami ends up as the biggest loser with $2.8 trillion.

Followed by New York-Newark ($1.8 trillion), New Orleans ($753 billion), Boston ($463 billion), Virginia Beach ($462 billion) and Tampa-St Petersburg ($414 billion).

The scariest part of the report is where it analyzes the potential costs of a Category 4 hurricane landfall for New York City. Current assets at risk from a strong hurricane stand at $1 trillion. With sea-level rise and further development in the region, this could exceed $5 trillion by 2050.

Can you imagine losing $5 trillion in one day? Think of it as the cost of heath care reform times 5.

Enjoy the New York beaches and beach-front hotels & resorts in Miami Beach while you can. Once a katrina-clone hits home, won’t be much left.

Good thing for those who own beach-front property is that you don’t have to worry about handing it over to your kids, estate taxes and all that stuff.

You can download the full WWF report, titled ‘Major Tipping Points in the Earth’s Climate System and Consequences for the Insurance Sector’ - here (pdf).

Photo by howieluvzus via flickr (creative commons).

Posted on November 25th, 2009 by PLing
Filed under: Sustainable Travel, Travel Insurance