This scenario makes the region the “most physically vulnerable coastal zone in the world”, the researchers state, and requires immediate action to prepare a smooth transition for people away from New Orleans, which has a population of about 360,000 people, to safer ground.
STUDY - Climate-driven depopulation and adaptation realities in America’s coastal ground zero - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-026-01820-z.epdf?sharing_token=dR4EvX94_OpplTXJJ1D3gdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MlKJdRcTWB_eBmhQntD4aKg460oCdZdOh3l4vKQm2tKuPh7ec8sehTAOxp3V_JugAeLgWJrG-MdYTj-MsnWobeclnul44WJnF2OPW-3MJACX31iAYWL814or6M7c0B36Bla4cq1b_qViwQKkNAZ55EBd1TOhCpBMtuxxJ8SRRjC7JqTfHy-_xBSsPpPLR5XE8%3D&tracking_referrer=www.theguardian.com
STUDY - Abstract - Climate-driven depopulation and adaptation realities in America’s coastal ground zero - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-026-01820-z
Other vulnerable cities:
New York, NY
Norfolk, VA
Charleston,SC
Jacksonville, FL
Miami, FL
Mobile, AL
Houston, TX
New Orleans, LA
STUDY - A tale of two coasts: Unveiling US Gulf and Atlantic coastal cities at high flood risk - https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aec2079