NORFOLK, Virginia — The nation's military bases are at risk when it comes to climate change and sea level rise, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
In its report, the GAO said the military needs to look more towards the future as it develops installation resilience plans.
The GAO found that military installations have not consistently assessed risks from extreme weather and climate change effects, or, consistently used projections to anticipate future climate conditions.
The report says the effects of climate change, such as sea level rise, may damage infrastructure and result in increased costs that are projected to rise as extreme weather events become more frequent and intense because of climate change.
Consequently, the report says, bases may be exposed to "greater-than-anticipated damage or degradation as a result of extreme weather or climate-related effects."
"Doing nothing isn't an option," said retired Colonel Paul Olson, who spent 28 years with the Army Corps of Engineers, including four as the Norfolk District Commander. "Ultimately, the sea is going to rise. The land is going to sink."
Olson is now Executive Director for Programs and Partnerships at Old Dominion University, specializing in Sea Level Rise Planning.
He says locally, Naval Station Norfolk and Langley Air Force Base are most at risk from climate change and sea level rise.
"We need to look at it through the eyes of military readiness," he said. "If it's worth defending, if it's important to our national security, it's imperative that we invest our resources to put infrastructure around to protect that."
The new GAO report, follows a Department of Defense report earlier this year which concluded that 53 of 79 bases are at risk for flooding, 43 are at risk for drought, and, 36 are at risk for wildfires.