Increased flooding caused by rising temperatures is forcing people and governments to think about withdrawing from coastal communities. 

What's happening?

This is an important topic in Hampton Roads, Virginia, where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, The Virginian-Pilot reported. Norfolk and other cities are working on adapting to the changing climate with a seawall, storm surge barriers, and other infrastructure, while Newport News, Chesapeake, and more have bought out flood-prone properties, some via Federal Emergency Management Agency funds.

Near the Virginia Zoo, wetlands have encroached on a neighborhood, forcing out residents and imperiling others. The risks are increasing insurance rates, but the Old Dominion has "limited flood disclosure laws," per the newspaper.

"All of these issues are so closely connected," Anna Weber, Natural Resources Defense Council senior policy analyst, said. "If you don't have good flood disclosure requirements in place, you buy a home and no one tells you that it's at risk of flooding. Then, you don't get flood insurance. Now you have no financial safety net when your home floods, and you're left with very few options. What are you going to do?

"Your best option might be to wait for a buyout, but that might not be available. It might not give you the money that you need to actually move on with your life."

Why is this important?

Pollution from the burning of dirty energy sources is warming the planet and making floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events more frequent and severe. The Virginian-Pilot noted that there were 27 natural disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damages in the United States in 2024.

"Much of climate-related retreat happens organically — homeowners on their own decide the risk isn't worth staying," it stated. "But managed retreat is an organized and strategic effort to migrate."

Joshua Elliot, chief scientist of research nonprofit Renaissance Philanthropy, told the outlet that 100-year floods may happen as often as every 30 years going forward. But, he said, lawmakers and taxpayers are often reluctant to pay for resiliency projects.

In Hampton Roads, only 7% of the thousands of homes that have flooded multiple times over the last 10 years have been elevated or otherwise made to better withstand rising waters, including via infrastructure improvements, per The Virginian-Pilot.

What's being done about protecting coastal communities?

FEMA buyouts can drag on and come with restrictions on land use, and managed retreat can leave homeowners asking for more for their properties. But it has worked after major flood events in Virginia, Iowa, and Texas, according to the paper.

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This could be preferred to the $2.6 billion price tag for Norfolk's resiliency infrastructure, for example, but it requires people to leave their homes.

To get over this huge obstacle, officials should focus on the safety and property issues that come with flood-prone areas rather than negative or "losing" terminology such as "retreat," Mary-Carson Stiff, executive director of Wetlands Watch, told The Virginian-Pilot.

Weber added: "Some of what we're trying to do in our advocacy around improving home buyout is help communities find ways to start the conversation earlier, before a disaster happens, so the community members can understand what the process might look like."

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