N.J. is sinking, oceans are rising, hurricanes are stronger and it’s only getting worse

Tuesday marks seven years since Hurricane Sandy made its unprecedented landfall in New Jersey. The devastating effects are well documented: 39 people dead and more than $30 billion in damage. Unprecedented flooding throughout the state. Millions of people without power for days. Major roadways rendered impassable for even longer. And climate change likely made it all worse. Since 1980, the threat posed to New Jersey by hurricanes and general flooding has risen dramatically thanks to climate change, according to a report released Tuesday. Ever-rising seas and warming ocean temperatures are fueling the growing risk — especially in the Garden State, where sinking land means that the water here climbs twice as fast as the global average. It’s been an expensive shift. Hurricane-related winds and floods have caused up to $1.3 billion more in destruction in the state today than they would have if climate reported in the 1980s had remained constant, according to the released by Rhodium Group with collaborators at Rutgers University and other Lab partners.