Impacts of sea level rise towards 2100 on buildings in Norway

Downscaled (local) estimations indicate that, when including isostatic uplift, the sea level in Norway could rise from 16 to 116 cm by the year 2100, relative to the year 2000, depending on location and a variety of uncertainties. This estimated sea level rise could cause major damage to existing buildings along the Norwegian coastline. The impact of this anticipated sea level rise is assessed for Norway's building stock leading up to 2100. Approximately 110 000 buildings are situated less than 1 m above normal sea level. Norway's building stock is disaggregated into various categories. Some of the categories at risk are: garages, temporary houses and boathouses (approximately 63 000 structures), houses (6000), cabins (18 000), office buildings (1600), hotels and restaurants (2000), and buildings for fishing and agriculture (9000). For these latter building categories, the economic, environmental and social consequences could be quite dramatic. A risk map is created at the country level to assess high, moderate or low consequences for the building stock. The total costs for Norway on constructional measures to buildings alone (excluding coastal defences and infrastructure) are estimated to be as much as E725 million.