This story was originally published byGrist.
Moving is never easy and its even harder in the era of global warming.
According toa recent survey, nearly a third of Americans named climate change as a motivation to move.
Photo: John Moore (Getty Images)
Heavy rain in July caused devastating flash floods inVermont.
Still, the new assessment demonstrates that some places are safer than others.
The assessment also makes it clear that vulnerability is often created by city planning choices.
Climate havens may not be something nature hands us, but something we have to build ourselves.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, was once the countrys most frequently flooded city, according to the assessment.
Over the last three decades, Tulsa has also cleared roughly1,000 buildingsout of flood zones through a buyout program.
Thats the kind of tough work that lies ahead of any Midwest city aiming to protect its residents.
And flooding isnt the only problem.
Residents of Michigan and Wisconsin face some of the longest power outages in the country.
That framing took off the following year, making the headlines inReuters,Yale Climate Connections, andBloomberg.
We need to help those places and guide those places to prepare.
Over the last two decades, more than400,000 peopleleft the Midwest for other regions of the United States.
In 2019, Buffalos mayor called his city a climate refuge.
The title is still embraced by some city planners: The2023 Green Cincinnati Plannames the city a climate haven.
The reality of climate change has weakened the phrases charm.
Most locals, however, dont share politicians enthusiasm for a wave of climate migration to the Midwest.
The only Midwest spot to make the top 10 was Oneida County in Wisconsin.
It brought 116-degree temperatures to Portland, melting streetcar power cables and buckling pavement.
Two years later, Portland and Seattle are more prepared for heat.
The Northwest went bananas with distributing heat pumps and AC units all over the place, Shandas said.
Theres no doubt that most people will be moving relatively locally, Keenan said.
A local refuge could be a community center with air conditioning during a heat wave.
And its like, No, actually, there are things we can do.
This article originally appeared inGristathttps://grist.org/migration/climate-havens-national-climate-assessment-midwest-migration/.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
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