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I don't know the extent to which that's true. If even one of the many big and worsening storms causes enough damage to breach on a single occasion then the who

I don't know the extent to which that's true. If even one of the many big and worsening storms causes enough damage to breach on a single occasion then the whole city floods to whatever level it would have otherwise and your efforts are for nothing.

GekkePrutser 5y ago
There was a huge flood in the Netherlands in 1953 which killed thousands and as a result a big barricade of walls was built around the whole area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works . There's been not even the slightest chance of flooding in that area since. Smart things with segmentation can also be done. I think it is possible to hold this off for the richest cities. It'll cost a lot to build, maintain and perhaps even upgrade it, for sure. The Netherlands had the big benefit of a major natural gas find in that time that gave a huge boost to the economy, otherwise this wouldn't have been possible. Also, there were less environmental restrictions back then. All that will make it more expensive today.
- asdff 5y ago
  On the other hand, the levee broke during Katrina in a first world country. Infrastructure needs to be improved and maintained continually and that's a huge problem and cost sink even in first world countries. Have you seen the price to build a mile of subway in NYC? The engineering marvel that will be required to save Manhattan will inevitably be the most costly thing ever built in the US.