Virginia Beach confronts inescapable costs of rising seas

By BEN FINLEY
Associated Press

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Voters in the coastal city of Virginia Beach will decide whether to approve one of the larger municipal bonds in the nation that would be used to protect against rising seas and intensifying hurricanes. A vote on the $568 million bond will be held Tuesday. It would fund anything from elevating roads to closing a 100-acre city golf course to collect stormwater. If the referendum fails, economists say the city could lose billions of dollars in the next half-century as recurrent flooding inundates roads and properties. The referendum underscores the mounting costs of adapting to climate change for U.S. cities. But it will also be a measure of Americans’ willingness to approve such bonds as more communities seek funding.