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Flooding zones in Northeast Florida will expand, study says

If you think you're safe from flooding because you don't live along the coastline, a new report says that's going to change.

A group of scientist says 40 percent of property in Florida will be highly exposed to flooding within the next 30 years.

The report by the Union of Concerned Scientists says that by 2045, nearly 64,000 residential properties worth about $26 billion will be impacted.

That includes parts of Northeast Florida that are not currently in a flood zone.

"I wouldn't want to see that happen. I've been here almost 50 years," said Jesse Rickerson who lives in St. Augustine. "We need to figure out the problem - how to fix it before it happens for our kids and grandkids."

Also in the report more than 1,800 current homes in St. Johns County worth more than $750 million are at risk by 2045.

"This is not a surprise," said St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver, whose city has been plagued with flooding problems.

She said the city needs sea walls, barriers and possibly living shorelines.

"You are working with nature, so you can have burms and all kinds of oyster-based shorelines," said Shaver. "Our city has been around 453 years, and we're not going to let a little bit of water end this city."