High tides flood Marshalls Capital
MARASHALLS ISLAND: Extreme high tides have flooded parts of
the low-lying Marshall Islands capital Majuro with a warning Sunday of
worse to come because of rising sea levels. Several areas of the city
were flooded Saturday and forecasters predicted more to come on Sunday
evening before the current high tide levels ease.
Flooding of the Marshall Islands atolls, many of which rise less than
a metre (three feet) above sea level, will increase in “frequency and
magnitude” in the coming years, University of Hawaii marine researcher
Murray Ford said.
Ford, who is studying rising sea levels in the Marshall islands, said
the weekend’s extreme tides of 1.67 metres were exacerbated by La Nina,
a weather phenomenon that has caused the base sea level to rise by 15
centimetres (six inches) in recent months. “As the sea level is
temporarily higher as a result of La Nina and overlies long-term sea
level rise, the impacts are magnified,” Ford said.
Majuro, AFP |