US cities that are ‘dying slowly’ and the southern metropolis is expected to experience a boom as residents flee in panic

Climate change is expected to transform American cities in the coming years as people increasingly abandon “danger zones” of floods, heat and wildfires in favor of calmer climates.

Scientists told DailyMail.com that several cities are “dying slowly” as residents flee popular waterside destinations that are prone to flooding, with many metropolises predicted to look “dramatically different” in just a few decades.

The Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Providence and Las Vegas areas are cited as the major metropolitan regions that will experience the largest proportional exodus due to flood risk. Meanwhile, relatively “safe” areas such as Jefferson County in Louisville, Kentucky, is experiencing an influx of new residents.

Dr Jeremy Porter, director of climate implications at the First Street Foundation, which produced the peer-reviewed report, told DailyMail.com that people are increasingly basing their relocations on climate factors.

“In the last five years, people have really started paying attention to climate data as something that impacts their movements,” he said.

“If you combine flood risk with what we’re already seeing in NASA’s population projections, you’ll see that there will be some places that will look dramatically different.”

Polls support him. A recent one Zillow A report found that 80 percent of Americans consider climate risks when looking for a new home, while Forbes published a study showing that 30 percent of homeowners say climate change was the reason for their move.

First Street’s study identifies the top ten “climate departure zones” in the United States: metropolitan areas where people are leaving in droves due to the increasing risk of climate events disrupting their lives and businesses.

Dr Porter said this first report focuses on flooding alone as a driving force, but the researchers added that there are definitive signs that wildfires and extreme heat are also important drivers of internal migration.

Two counties in Minneapolis, Minnesota, took first and second place because of their proximity to the Mississippi River, which periodically floods its banks.

Climate change is adding to the problem. A warmer atmosphere means that big storms can bring more rain and overwhelm sewage systems.

Researchers identified Hennepin County and Ramsey County, which cover much of the city’s core, as areas projected to have the largest population declines by 2035.

The number of blocks defined as “climate abandonment areas” in Hennepin County is projected to increase from 23 percent today to 56.9 percent in 2053.

Ramsey County, meanwhile, is expected to see a 29 percent increase, bringing the percentage of blocks in the area where people are leaving en masse to 54.3 percent by 2053.

Dr Porter told DailyMail.com that these regions are also struggling with job losses and fewer resources, but the floods are accelerating the exodus.

“There is already emigration due to lack of jobs and socio-economic issues. But climate risk is also affecting relocation… The city is slowly dying,” he said.

In West Alton, a town frequently devastated by flooding on the Mississippi River bend in Ramsey County, the number of residents has plummeted from 3,900 in 1970 to 360 this year.

The town’s three churches have closed, and many of the remaining homes have been raised on stilts to protect them from rising waters.

Patrick Nunnally, a retired University of Minnesota professor and Mississippi River expert, said towns that once thrived on the river are now “barely standing.”

First Street’s report identified Marion County in Indianapolis as number three in the ranking of counties most negatively impacted by climate migration.

The number of blocks defined as “climate abandonment areas” in the county is projected to increase from 15.3 percent today to 39 percent in 2053.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee County, home to Wisconsin’s largest city, ranks fourth, followed by Providence County in Rhode Island and Clark County in Las Vegas in sixth.

While some of these cities may seem surprising for being far from the closest to a major river or coastline, Dr. Porter explained that they are prone to “pluvial flooding” caused by rainwater overwhelming sewage systems.

“For example, in Las Vegas, you see patterns in disconnected streets that are caused by heavy rainfall in the area,” Dr. Porter said.

‘This is especially true in mid-sized and large cities where infrastructure in the area often does not meet required specifications, given that the federal government does not include climate change in stormwater predictions.’

But domestic “climate migrants” tend to move only a few dozen miles. to escape extreme weather events.

“Most climate change-driven measures are hyperlocal,” Dr Porter told DailyMail.com. “In fact, of all moves within the country, only 15 percent are interstate. People tend to stay within their state.”

Meanwhile, as Americans leave certain areas, others are experiencing an influx.

People are flocking to places like Jefferson County in Louisville, Kentucky; Macomb County in Detroit, Michigan; Newark County in Passaic, New Jersey; Oakland County in Detroit; and San Mateo County in San Francisco, California.

Dr Porter said there was a combination of factors driving people to these places, but it was mainly because they were relatively “safe” zones located close to a climate risk area where people were fleeing.

The First Street report isolates economic, social and other factors of climate change as drivers of migration by using complex mathematical equations.

But the data is pretty straightforward: people are increasingly considering climate risk when making decisions.

“We are seeing property values ​​decline in climate-risk areas. As more data becomes available, we will see more of this,” said Dr Porter.

“Climate awareness has increased enormously over the last five years and we are starting to see people respond to it,” he added. “This is just the beginning.”