国际英语资讯:Feature: U.S. city Miami could one day be underwater, just as many other cities worldwide_时事

国际英语资讯:Feature: U.S. city Miami could one day be underwater, just as many other cities worldwide

"In some places, levies and seawalls can be built, perhaps pumps for a short period of time will solve the problem temporarily. But basically if you know that sea level is going to become three meters higher sometime in the next 50 or 100 or 150 years, the sooner we start building higher, the better," he said.

Miami residents told Xinhua that even at times of calm weather and sunshine, high tides can flood Miami's streets by several inches. Those are often known as king tides.

Englander said king ties are becoming a problem worldwide.

"You're seeing this in cities all over the world, that when we have a full moon high tide, and it pulls the oceans more strongly, they are getting more flooding," he said.

FOR MIAMI, DANGER NOT ONLY ON BEACHFRONTS

Back in Miami, the city boasts a large Cuban-American population, which has lived in the area since the 1960s and is often influential and wealthy. Recent immigrants have come from all over Latin America, and Spanish is often heard spoken on the street.

Southern Florida is also a major retirement destination for Americans nationwide, who want to spend their golden years soaking up the sun, and a playground for the rich and famous.

"If water is rising, you're in a basin by definition," Daniel Kreeger, executive director of the Association of Climate Change Officers, told Xinhua, over a meal at a Cuban restaurant.

The danger to Miami and surrounding areas is not necessarily in beachfront areas, despite many people's belief that beaches would be the main areas impacted, he said.