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KQED's Forum

As Sea Levels Rise, What Will It Take to Protect the Bay Area From Flooding?

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Marin Country rang in the New Year with the worst flooding in decades. Heavy storms combined with king tides turned parts of Highway 101 into lakes, pushed water over levees, and caused damage to hundreds of homes and businesses. While many people were caught off guard, the floods were not a surprise to researchers and planners who study sea-level rise. The question now is how well cities and regional agencies will respond and make changes. We’ll talk about the floods and what it will take to adapt to rising sea levels in the Bay Area. Guests: Ezra David Romero, climate reporter, KQED Kristina Hill, director, Institute for Urban and Regional Development, College of Environmental Design at UC Berkeley Bart Ney, acting deputy director of external affairs, Caltrans Michael Germeraad, resilience planner, Association of Bay Area Governments & Metropolitan Transportation Commission Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:01.5

From KQED.

1:03.6

Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrable.

1:06.5

Pretty much as long as I've been conscious, there have been scientists arguing that global warming

1:11.3

would lead to rising sea levels. But it's one thing to see a chart in a book or a color-coded map,

1:17.7

and quite another to have a big king tide show just what it means to bump up the level of the ocean

1:24.3

by a foot or two. The king tides of early this month were one of the starkest signs

1:29.3

that our low-lying coastal areas are indeed in trouble. They're deeply vulnerable to flooding,

1:35.0

and though we've been yapping about climate change for decades, the seriousness of purpose

...

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