The Results

In an Oct. 2015 report issued by commercial real estate group CBRE, Miami was ranked No. 1 for having the most “asset values” exposed in a disaster flood scenario – which the report’s authors described as a “100-year flood,” or “a flood level that has a 1 percent chance of occurring in a single year.” As of the writing of the report, Miami had $366 billion worth of real estate situated in areas vulnerable to a worst-case scenario.

The real estate group also identified Miami as the No. 1 city for average annual losses due to floods at $672 million – and that’s at the current sea level. By 2050, the city’s annual flood costs are expected to rise to around $2.5 billion, according to World Bank Economist Stéphane Hallegatte.

In 15 years, pending a drastic shift in climate, sea level along the Miami coast will have risen by nearly a foot, which would compromise over 8,500 homes and have affected upwards of 19,000 residents, according to Climate Central. That’s not factoring temporary increases in sea level due to storms. CBRE reported that by 2050, “storm surge could cause sea levels in U.S. coastal cities to rise 5 feet during hurricanes,” which would increase the number of homes compromised by flooding to 242,764 and the affected population to nearly 500,000.

“The cost of doing nothing is catastrophic,” said Quinn Eddins, director of research and analysis for CBRE’s Florida division and the report’s author.