• Damage from storm surge, which is an abnormal rise in water level caused by high winds and low air pressure generated by storms. SLR contributed to the historic storm surge of 15 ft (4.5 m) along the Florida Big Bend region from Hurricane Helene.
• Damage from “King Tides” – extreme high tides determined by the lunar cycle. SLR is raising the height of king tides, and therefore increasing the amount of flooding they bring, even on “blue sky days” and in good weather.
• Erosion, which is caused by flooding from storm surges and by flooding on land that is usually dry. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection deems several areas of Miami-Dade county to be “critically eroded”.
• Damage to infrastructure and the economy: Rising sea level damages infrastructure – roads, bridges, water and sewage systems – and can profoundly reduce a key economic driver of the state’s economy: agriculture. Hurricane Helene alone cost $79.6 billion USD. SLR will also financially harm local governments by undercutting their property tax base.
• Displacement: While the precise amount of sea level rise is uncertain, SLR of around 6 ft (1.8 m) by 2100 could displace more than 4 million residents in Florida. Most state and county plans for resiliency are not prepared for more than 3-4 ft (0.9-1.2 m).

1. Climate disasters: SLR is increasing the risk of flooding and storm surges, making hurricanes and tropical storms more damaging. These traumatic events are associated with an increase in a range of psychological ills and disorders. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that 20-30% of those who live through a hurricane develop depression and/or PTSD within the first few months following the event, with similar rates for people who have experienced flooding. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention reported worsening anxiety (17% of participants) and depression (11%) for Florida Key residents in the months after Hurricane Irma in 2017. Mental health care centers reported large numbers of people seeking psychological support after Hurricane Helene and Milton in 2024.
2. Displacement: Sea level rise is prompting planned relocations of communities in danger. Relocation is psychologically damaging, understandably, due to the loss of one’s house or the land one calls home, and the loss of a familiar community and the customary activities of daily life. Changes such as these can erode a person’s sense of self and identity, stability, financial security, and community connections.
3. Direct mental health impacts: Sea level rise has been described as a “creeping change”, causing constant fear, worry, and anxiety as the need for relocation becomes more obvious. Then there is the question that looms even more ominously – relocate where? What, if any, are the options? Chronic stress has been shown to increase morbidity and mortality, meaning that a person is more likely to suffer from chronic illness or die at a younger than expected age.
4. Indirect mental health impacts: Environmental stressors triggered by SLR, such as coastal flooding, destruction of crops, and contamination of drinking water by saltwater, and the resultant food, water, and income insecurity, have negative impacts on wellbeing, community health, and social stability.

• After Hurricane Andrew (1992), post-traumatic stress symptoms were reported in as many as 35-60% of children in Miami-Dade county. The psychological harms from these stressors were enduring, and associated with myriad subsequent persistent challenges in later stages of life.
• Using maps to visualize the impacts of sea level rise and storm surge in Miami-Dade and Broward county, one study found that projected impacts of 1 m (3.2 ft) of SLR and a category 3 tropical cyclone could lead to over 1 million individuals with major depressive disorder, anxiety, and PTSD. Age, sex, and race influenced the link between sea level rise and psychological distress.
• Several studies have shown significantly lower depressive symptoms in communities that had sufficient resources and received social support after extreme weather events in Florida.

• In East Malaita, Solomon Islands, a 2015 study found that over 90% of community members surveyed reported that SLR is affecting them and their family and is causing fear and worry. “We were afraid and worried all the time when we saw the sea water rise up and it came into our houses […] My worry is big because there is no place for me to go”.
• An increase in psychological distress was reported following 6-9 months after the 2004 hurricanes in Florida
• In the Volta Delta region of Ghana, researchers (2024) found that communities that were relocated due to flooding and erosion risks through government-led planned relocations reported lower levels of wellbeing, felt more insecure, more anxious and felt less attached to their home and their environment compared to other communities that weren’t relocated.

When acute becomes chronic: Research on the mental health of Florida residents before and after Hurricane Irma in September 2017 and after Hurricane Michael in October 2018 has found that repeated exposure to hurricanes can compound mental health impacts over time. That is, post-traumatic stress may cumulatively increase when people experience repeated storms. Repeated hurricanes, or the risk of predicted hurricanes, can also trigger peoples’ memories and trauma symptoms from past storms.

While some SLR rise is inevitable due to the excess heat already stored in the ocean, we can still slow it and minimize the amount of SLR by slowing the world’s warming.

1. Develop resiliency plans. Inundation levels of 1 m (3 ft) in Florida are estimated
   to affect 2555 miles of road, 35 public schools, and 300,000 homes. While Miami-Dade County has put substantial effort into strengthening resilience to SLR, with a comprehensive and user-friendly set of recommendations, as well as a “Sea Level Rise Strategy”, it addresses SLR of a scant 2 ft (0.6 m). Preparation for the actual risks are urgently called for – both physical and psychological.
2. Prepare for and respond to the psychological toll of sea level rise. After Hurricane Irma, 17% of households in the Florida Keys reported a need for a mental health care provider and, of these, 37.9% did not receive needed services. A 2022 study estimated over one million of people in Florida could experience psychological distress from sea level rise and tropical cyclones. Quite incredibly, no plan in Florida currently includes the growing psychological toll. A strategy to address the psychological toll should include:
   • Education about sea level rise and its root cause – climate change and burning fossil fuels.
   • Creation of disaster, evacuation, and/or relocation plans. Making a plan can help some individuals reduce their anticipatory anxiety.
   • Training health professionals and first responders to understand the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, how to be leaders pressing for policy change, and provide trauma-informed care to those already suffering.
3. Work together and support one another. Social support from neighbors, companions, and institutions can help communities cope with the psychological harms linked to SLR. Taking action in the face of anxiety-producing situations reduces anxiety and creates a feeling of empowerment – collective action is particularly beneficial. Here are some organisations working on these fronts:
   • 1000 Friends of Florida
   • Florida Clinicians for Climate Action
   • Climate Leadership Engagement Opportunities (CLEO) Institute and GenCLEO Action
   • Climate Psychology Alliance of North America and Climate Psychiatry Alliance (nationwide)
4. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and hold those responsible accountable. Some level of SLR is inevitable, but the sooner we stop burning fossil fuels, the less SLR there will be, and the slower it will take for the seas to rise.
5. Protect those most vulnerable. Some groups are fighting for their own protection. One example: in December 2024, with support from Our Children’s Trust, six youth plaintiffs (aged 18-25), all lifelong Miami-Dade County residents, filed Reynolds v. Public Service Commission, a youth-led constitutional climate lawsuit in Florida to safeguard their right to a livable future.

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Florida Latino Voters Express Deep Concerns About Climate Change, published in PR Newswire on May 2, 2022 by UnidosUS Action Fund.

Florida’s Sea Level Is Rising: And It’s Costing Over $4 Billion, published in SeaLevelRise.org.

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Published: February 28, 2025

Author: Gabriella Teerlynck-Aviles

With gratitude to input from Lise Van Susteren, MD, and SLR Expert John Englander.

Editor: Colleen Rollins, PhD