The elite island that has residents living in fear as sea levels predicted to rise by a FOOT in next 30 years
On one of the wealthiest and most picturesque islands in America, fear is rising as fast as the Atlantic tide.
According to the latest projections by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), sea levels around Nantucket are expected to rise by more than a foot by 2055 - a threat that experts say could drastically reshape the island's future.
The estimate comes from NOAA's 'high sea level' scenario, adopted by the Town of Nantucket, which forecasts sea level rise of 1.15 feet as soon as 2040 and more than 2 feet by 2060, according to the Town and County of Nantucket.
Long known as an elite summer destination with multimillion-dollar waterfront homes, Nantucket now finds itself at the forefront of coastal climate risk.
Some of the island's most iconic areas, including the historic downtown, are already showing signs of strain. Flooding that once occurred just a few times a year now inundates places like the island's beloved Easy Street nearly every month.
Milan Basnet, owner of the Easy Street Restaurant, said the flooded streets negatively affect his business.
'Last month it rained heavily twice, none of it actually affected the restaurant, but when the water is that high, people can't walk or cross the street and are less likely to come in to eat,' he told the DailyMail.com.
High tide flooding events have increased from an average of six per year in the 1960s, to an average of 37 times in 2020 and eventually moved to a record-setting 75 times in 2023.
Some of the island's most iconic areas, including the historic downtown, are already showing signs of strain. Flooding that once occurred just a few times a year now inundates places like Easy Street (pictured) nearly every month
In response, the town, which is home to about 14,000 year-round residents, adopted a Coastal Resilience Plan in 2021, which identified four major concerns - groundwater table rise, coastal flooding, high tide flooding and coastal erosion.
The timely report also outlines a series of projects ranging from nature-based shoreline defenses to costly infrastructure retrofits designed to help mitigate the ongoing crisis.
More than 2,300 buildings - many of them historical and residential properties - have been identified as vulnerable to flooding or erosion by 2070, according to the assessment.
The projected damages have the potential to cause upwards of $3.4billion in damages if no adaptation measures are taken, Leah Hill, the town's coastal resilience advisory coordinator, told Inside Climate News.
The resilience plan is simple in theory, but challenging in execution, given the island's mix, Hill said.
The multi-pronged plan is based on three strategies. 'Protect (keep water out), adapt (live with water), retreat (move away from water),' according to Hill.
'Depending on which critical infrastructure is at risk depends on which strategy is recommended.'
Hill added that the coastal resilience plan will assess risks every five to 10 years.
The plan has identified over 40 proposed projects over the next 15 years at a hefty cost of $930million.
So far, the picturesque island has committed $14million for coastal resilience projects including planning, design and implementation.
In some more coastal areas on the island, residents have already begun to elevate homes and retrofit buildings in an attempt to stay ahead of the water.
On Sheep Pond Road, erosion has forced some property owners to relocate their homes inland by hundreds of feet, and in some cases houses have even had to be demolished.
Since 2014, seven structures along Sheep Pond Road have been demolished due to erosion, the Nantucket Current reported.
The challenge, town officials say, lies in balancing preservation with preparedness.
'It's not like we create the coastal resilience plan, and then we follow it, and we're done,' Sarah Bois, Director of Research and Education, at The Linda Loring Nature Foundation, said.
'It's because the change is continuous, and we can't anticipate all the different ways that the community is going to be impacted. It is something that we have to kind of revisit and think about and adapt as it goes along.'
Bois, who works for the nonprofit which operates from a wildlife preserve created over decades, added that to 'better handle' rising waters and continued onslaughts of rain, they are pursuing protections for homeowners, businesses and tourist trade.
The protections will modify the landscape and natural spaces to better suit the influx of stormwater, she told Inside Climate News, adding that pipes that carry stormwater are being assessed and patched this spring.
Other Nantucket improvements include bioswales - plant-filled channels that absorb runoff - are part of several projects, and at Polpis Harbor, recycled oyster shells are being used to rebuild a salt marsh and support local bird habitats.
For now, Nantucket is pushing forward with its resilience planning, buoyed by state and federal support and an increasingly engaged local community.
But with the sea continuing to rise and climate projections growing more dire, the island's future remains on unstable ground.
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