Floods affecting much of the south-east US show the destructive force of higher sea levels and warmer temperatures. Now, researchers at the non-profit Climate Central are using artificial intelligence to predict how climate-related flooding will affect US communities into the next 75 years if warming continues at its current pace.

Previous research has shown that by 2050, sea levels along the US coastline could rise as much as 12in (30cm) from 2020 levels. High-tide flooding, which can occur even in sunny weather, is projected to triple by 2050, and so-called 100-year floods may soon become annual occurrences in New England.

The scale of the threat is difficult to fathom, said Ben Strauss, CEO and chief scientist at Climate Central. He hopes new AI imagery will help.

“We want to change how flood risk is communicated in this country,” Strauss said. “When the picture [is] of a local site that you know and are familiar with, that’s when the stakes really make themselves apparent.”

Climate Central sent camera-equipped trucks along the eastern and Gulf coasts to capture images […]