Sharjah24 - Reuters: Galveston could sink 25 inches as sea-level rise combines with a continental sagging effect to cause increased coastal flooding.

The U.S. National Ocean Service, or NOAA, published a report on Tuesday, February 15, warning that sea levels along the U.S. coastline are projected to rise an average of 10 to 12 inches in the next 30 years, which will be as much as the rise measured over the last 100 years — from 1920 to 2020.

The NOAA report says the sea level rise will vary regionally along the U.S. coastlines — not just because of the global rise of ocean height, but also because of differences in the relative movement of land height.

That’s because the southeastern part of the U.S. landmass is projected to sag much more than the northwestern part — which is why the sea level is expected to rise a whopping 25 inches in Galveston, Texas, but only 9 inches in Seattle.

The NOAA warns that Galveston and cities on the east coast would experience many more damaging storm surges, while so-called “sunny day floods” during high tides will happen more often and cause more damage.