"More Americans Are Moving Into Flood And Fire Hot Spots"

"More than 300,000 Americans moved to flood or fire-prone counties last year, according to data from the real estate company Redfin."

"As he looked at the Atlantic Ocean through the condo unit’s bedroom window, the sparkling blue water almost close enough to touch, Ed Morman knew this was where he wanted to spend the rest of his life.

The 51-year-old was aware it might be risky moving to a barrier island on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, where relative sea levels have risen more than half a foot since 2010, according to a Washington Post analysis of tide gauge data. But the condo in Satellite Beach had everything else Morman and his wife were looking for: Warm weather. A welcoming community. A price they could afford in a place where they could one day retire.

He turned to the real estate agent and said, “Yeah, we’re making an offer.”

Morman and his wife moved from their Washington apartment to the Satellite Beach condo in February 2023. They are among more than 300,000 Americans who moved to flood- or fire-prone counties last year, despite the growing threat posed by climate change, according to a report from the real estate company Redfin."

Sarah Kaplan reports for the Washington Post August 5, 2024.

Source: Washington Post, 08/06/2024