Sea level rise would desvastate Charleston

A sea level rise of 5 feet by the end of the century could inundate Charleston, unless levees like those in Holland are built to wall in the peninsula on which the historic city is built.

If nothing were done, Charleston's waterfront Battery would be underwater, its port awash and large sections of the Historic District, including almost three dozen historic landmarks, lost, according to new maps released Thursday.

The grim news came at a forum on rising sea levels rise sponsored by the Southeast Coastal Climate Network, a nonprofit environmental group working with local leaders to address global warming and its effects.

Duke University geologist Orin Pilkey said barrier islands have been shrinking worldwide for a century.

The maps showed that a 5-foot rise in sea level would swamp the Lowcountry's barrier islands, leaving only thin slivers of sand. That would destroy tourism, the state's largest industry, which brings in $16 billion a year.

There have been projections of a 3 to 5-foot sea level rise by 2100 in places like Rhode Island and Miami.

"The peninsular part of Charleston would be right up there with Miami," Pilkey said. "These are possibilities, not predictions. But they are genuine possibilities."

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