The predicted rise of sea levels might have placed a third of the English coast at risk.
A study published in the journal Oceans And Coastal Management has compared the rising risk of coastal flooding with existing policies for managing the floods, concluding that nearly 200,000 homes and businesses in England are currently at risk of being lost forever to the seas.
According to the research, these properties would have to be abandoned due to the high costs of putting protections such as seawalls and coastal defences. Some of the areas most at risk include North Somerset, Sedgemoor, Wyre and Swale. The figure does not include the 30,000 to 35,000 properties which already have a policy in place to realign the coast.
"It just won't be possible to hold the line all around the coast," said Paul Sayers, author of the report. Sayers works with the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia and advises the government...