RMS SAYS $77BN OF SAN FRANCISCO PROPERTY EXPOSED TO SEA LEVEL RISE

Up to $77bn of low-lying coastal properties in the San Francisco area face exposure to rising sea levels projected for the end of the century, according to an analysis by US catastrophe modeler Risk Management Solutions. The study was commissioned by San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee for the city’s Sea Level Rise Action Plan and was based on the National Research Council’s projection that sea levels could rise as high as 66 inches by the year 2100. RMS estimates $55bn of low-lying public and private property in the region could face permanent inundation by the end of the century, assuming no mitigation efforts are enacted. The estimate also reflects present-day rebuilding costs and market values, not costs 84 years into the future. RMS estimated that another $22bn in property could be at risk in the event that a 1-in-100-year storm surge raised sea levels an additional 42 inches (to 108 inches).