The nearly $3 million Delaware beach house former vice president Joe Biden nabbed in 2017 is at risk of being destroyed by the rising tides of climate change, scientists say.
Biden nabbed the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware property just months after leaving the White House, saying it had always been a dream to "buy a place at the beach." The 3-story, 4,786 square foot home was built in 2007 and is equipped with an elevator, 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, multiple decks, and both an indoor and outdoor kitchen.
The property is also located less than a half mile from the coast, and is identified by the Union of Concerned Scientists as one of the many houses in the community that is at risk from flooding caused by climate change by 2045. The home is at high risk of being "chronically inundated" by floods with either a high or moderate rise in global sea levels, according to the group.
"It is important to note that the flooding highlighted here is not caused by storms—it is simply the result of high tides rising higher, and reaching farther inland, as sea levels rise," the group explains. "For this analysis, chronic flooding is defined to be flooding that occurs 26 times or more per year, a level of disruption also referred to as chronic inundation."
Another flooding model by Climate Central, a group funded by the Obama administration, predicts Biden's new house will be completely underwater by 2100, with the new coastline caused by rising sea levels washing up his entire neighborhood.
Climate change alarmists have cautioned against building any new property near Biden's new beach home, and home prices have fallen in the state due to the concerns, according to the First Street Foundation. In fact, according to property history from Zillow, Biden bought the house in 2017 for just about $500,000 less than the $3,258,595 it was initially sold for in 2007, and about $250,000 less than the $2,995,00 it was listed for in 2016.
It is unclear whether the discount was because others were more concerned about the coming impacts of climate change than Biden was. Biden did not respond to a request for comment on whether climate change impacted his decision to buy the home.
Biden's campaign website says there is "no greater challenge facing our country and our world" than climate change, and calls the Green New Deal a "crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face."
Located even closer to the beach in the same community is a home owned by fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidate John Delaney, who bought on the Delaware coast in 2010 for $4.4 million.
More recently choosing to gamble against the threat of climate change was former president Barack Obama, who last month bought a $15 million Martha's Vineyard estate. The model by Climate Central says the property will be completely underwater by 2100, and the Union of Concerned Scientists says the property is at risk of being chronically inundated by flooding by 2045.