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Rising sea level worry for B.C

Rising sea levels could cause flooding in Metro Vancouver communities that never had to worry about it before, such as False Creek and Kitsilano, according to new projections from the B.C. government. Most coastal communities in B.C.

Rising sea levels could cause flooding in Metro Vancouver communities that never had to worry about it before, such as False Creek and Kitsilano, according to new projections from the B.C. government.

Most coastal communities in B.C. have bylaws that restrict construction in coastal areas prone to flooding.

Those restrictions are based on the water level at high tide, plus an extra allowance for surges and waves, which occur during major storms.

The problem is those calculations are based on current sea levels and don't take into account what most experts now believe is inevitable: A rise in global sea levels of a metre or more by 2100.

"It would mean that structures that are safe now under current conditions ... may be getting wet in 2100," said Neil Peters, the B.C. government's inspector of dikes.

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