A warming climate, a unique topography and the legacy of coal mining have increased the odds of extreme flooding in Appalachia
CLIMATEWIRE | Severe rainstorms continued to pelt eastern Kentucky early this week, just days after catastrophic floods slammed the region’s mountain communities. More than three dozen people are confirmed dead, with hundreds more missing.
At the same time, many central Appalachian communities have suffered major economic losses in the wake of the coal industry’s decline, affecting their ability to adapt to a more extreme climate future. As the region warms up, “you’re just getting a ton more water vapor in the atmosphere that reaches the saturation point — it has to come down somewhere,” said Chris Barton, a professor of forest hydrology and watershed management at the University of Kentucky and president of the reforestation nonprofit Green Forests Work.That’s because the influence of climate change is compounded by the region’s steep topography.
“It moves that water through very quick,” Barton said. “It makes it flashy and makes it highly prone to flooding.” Mining has left many mountaintops scarred, deforested and covered in heavily compacted soil. It’s often more difficult for these kinds of landscapes to absorb water, compared with the area’s original spongy natural forests. That can increase the risk of heavy runoff and flash floods in the mountains.
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