Economic evaluation of sea-level rise adaptation strongly influenced by hydrodynamic feedbacks: Dataset 1

Coastal communities rely on levees and seawalls as critical protection against sea-level rise; in the U.S. alone, $300 billion in shoreline armoring costs are forecast by 2100. But despite the local flood risk reduction benefits, these structures can exacerbate flooding and associated damages along other parts of the shoreline—particularly in coastal bays and estuaries, where nearly 500 million people globally are at risk from sea-level rise. The magnitude and spatial distribution of the economic impact of this dynamic, however, are poorly understood. Here we combine hydrodynamic and economic models to assess the extent of both local and regional flooding and damages expected from a range of shoreline protection and sea-level rise scenarios in San Francisco Bay, California. We find that protection of individual shoreline segments (5-75 km) can increase flooding in other areas by as much as 36 million cubic meters and damages by $723 million for a single flood event, and in some cases ca...