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In recent weeks we’ve seen catastrophic floods sweep across the world associated with climate change. With 120 lives lost in Western Europe and many more unaccounted for, responding to and minimising the threat of natural disasters is crucial. 

NASA and the University of Hawaii are now predicting that in the mid-2030s, every U.S. coast will experience rapidly increasing high-tide floods, when a lunar cycle will amplify rising sea levels caused by climate change.

However, the combination of a ‘moon wobble’ with the effects of climate change will threaten coastal cities around the world. Just today, two cold fronts will cause damaging-to-destructive winds, flooding rain, abnormally high tides and damaging surf in WA. From the perspective of coastal communities, it’s not if a major flood will occur, it’s when the next one will arrive.

Produced By: Sophie Bennett

Featured In Story: Professor Fred Watson, Australia’s Astronomer at large

First aired on The Wire, Tuesday 27 July 2021