To combat rising waters and storm surge in Atlantic City, N.J., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building a $34-million seawall-like project—the Absecon Inlet Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Structure. Breaking ground in 2015, the project is mostly funded by $24 million from the federal government. Further, the Corps is studying how to reduce flooding from the city’s back-bay area, which won’t be helped by the Absecon Inlet project.

Along the Jersey Shore, from Sandy Hook to Cape May, sea level has risen 16 in. in the past century, compared to the national average of only one foot. Thus, Sandy’s surge added even more water, causing the region to flood 27 sq miles more than it would have in 1880.