Economic & Social Losses
- Coastal flooding leads to both economic and social losses
Economic | Cost | Social | Cost |
Housing |
Cost of land and repairing/rebuilding homes |
Relocation |
Increasing numbers of properties will be at risk forcing people to relocate their homes |
Businesses |
Destruction and damage to businesses leads to the loss of $billions in profits but also in the cost of rebuilding |
Loss of livelihood |
Income for farmers lost due to loss of livestock and flooding of crops Loss of jobs when businesses are affected |
Agricultural land |
Loss of productive land can lead to food shortages and loss of income from crop and livestock sales |
Amenity value |
Large areas of land with amenity value are coastal and at risk from coastal flooding |
Infrastructure - roads, power, water, communication |
Roads, power stations, power lines, water and energy are all costly to rebuild and repair after flooding |
- These losses can be significant particularly in densely populated coastal areas
- This often leads to much higher spending on coastal defences in the densely populated areas due to the cost-benefit analysis calculation
- This can lead to conflict between different stakeholders