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Report: Parts of NYC could be flood zone by 2050

Published:Tuesday | June 11, 2013 | 12:00 AM
A man comforts a child rescued from a car, right, blocked on the roadside by water overflowing from the Arga River, in La Rochapea, near Pamplona northern Spain last Sunday. Heavy rains have affected northern Spain in the last few days with flooding particularly in Navarra province. - AP photos

NEW YORK (AP):

Officials say new projections show 800,000 New York City residents could be living in flood zone that would cover a quarter of the city's land by the 2050s as rising seas and other effects of global warming take hold.

The number of 90-degree days in the city could double or even triple to echo what Birmingham, Alabama, now has. And eight per cent of New York City's coastline could flood just from high tides.

Two top aides to Mayor Michael Bloomberg discussed the findings Monday. Bloomberg is scheduled to present recommendations today for dealing with climate risks.

A panel of scientists made the new projections. In some cases, they echo estimates the group made in 2009 but move up the time frame from the end of the century to the middle.