Query: “Federal scientists have documented a sharp jump in this nuisance flooding — often called ‘sunny-day flooding’ — along both the East Coast and the Gulf Coast in recent years.

Relevant passages:
United States <=SEP=> The United States of America ( USA ) , commonly known as the United States ( U.S. ) or America , is a constitutional federal republic composed of 50 states , a federal district , five major self-governing territories , and various possessions .  Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico . The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America , bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west . The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean . The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea . Nine time zones are covered . The geography , climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse .   At 3.8 million square miles ( 9.8 million km2 ) and with over 324 million people , the United States is the world 's third - or fourth-largest country by total area , third-largest by land area , and the third-most populous . It is one of the world 's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations , and is home to the world 's largest immigrant population . The capital is Washington , D.C. , and the largest city is New York City ; nine other major metropolitan areas -- each with at least 4.5 million inhabitants and the largest having more than 13 million people -- are Los Angeles , Chicago , Dallas , Houston , Philadelphia , Miami , Atlanta , Boston , and San Francisco .   Paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago . European colonization began in the 16th century . The United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast . Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the Seven Years ' War led to the American Revolution , which began in 1775 . On July 4 , 1776 , during the course of the American Revolutionary War , the colonies unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence . The war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain , representing the first successful war of independence against a European power . The current constitution was adopted in 1788 , after the Articles of Confederation , adopted in 1781 , were felt to have provided inadequate federal powers . The first ten amendments , collectively named the Bill of Rights , were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties .   The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century , displacing Native American tribes , acquiring new territories , and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848 . During the second half of the 19th century , the American Civil War led to the end of legal slavery in the country . By the end of that century , the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean , and its economy , driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution , began to soar . The Spanish -- American War and confirmed the country 's status as a global military power . The United States emerged from as a global superpower , the first country to develop nuclear weapons , the only country to use them in warfare , and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council . The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world 's sole superpower . The U.S. is a founding member of the United Nations , World Bank , International Monetary Fund , Organization of American States ( OAS ) , and other international organizations .   The United States is a highly developed country , with the world 's largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP . Though its population is only 4.3 % of the world total , Americans hold nearly 40 % of the total wealth in the world . The United States ranks among the highest in several measures of socioeconomic performance , including average wage , human development , per capita GDP , and productivity per person . While the U.S. economy is considered post-industrial , characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy , the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world . Accounting for approximately a quarter of global GDP and a third of global military spending , the United States is the world 's foremost economic and military power . The United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally , and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations .

Gulf Coast of the United States <=SEP=> The Gulf Coast of the United States is the coastline along which the Southern United States meets the Gulf of Mexico . The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , and Florida , and these are known as the Gulf States .   The economy of the Gulf Coast area is dominated by industries related to energy , petrochemicals , fishing , aerospace , agriculture , and tourism . The large cities of the region are ( from west to east ) Brownsville , Corpus Christi , Houston , Galveston , Beaumont , Lafayette , Baton Rouge , New Orleans , Biloxi , Mobile , Pensacola , St. Petersburg , Tampa , and increasingly , Sarasota ; all are the centers of their respective metropolitan areas and contain large ports . ( Baton Rouge is relatively far from the Gulf of Mexico ; its port is on the Mississippi River , as is the port of New Orleans . )

Mississippi <=SEP=> Mississippi -LSB- mɪsᵻˈsɪpi -RSB- is a state in the southern region of the United States , with part of its southern border formed by the Gulf of Mexico . Its western border is formed by the Mississippi River .   The state has a population of approximately 3 million . It is the 32nd most extensive and the 32nd most populous of the 50 United States . Located in the center of the state , Jackson is the state capital and largest city , with a population of approximately 175,000 people .   The state is heavily forested outside of the Mississippi Delta area , between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers . Before the American Civil War , most development in the state was along riverfronts , where slaves worked on cotton plantations . After the war , the bottomlands to the interior were cleared , mostly by freedmen . By the end of the 19th century , African Americans made up two-thirds of the Delta 's property owners , but timber and railroad companies acquired much of the land after a financial crisis .   Clearing altered the Delta 's ecology , increasing the severity of flooding along the Mississippi . Much land is now held by agribusinesses . A largely rural state with agricultural areas dominated by industrial farms , Mississippi is ranked low or last among the states in such measures as health , educational attainment , and median household income . The state 's catfish aquaculture farms produce the majority of farm-raised catfish consumed in the United States .   Since the 1930s and the Great Migration , Mississippi has been majority white , albeit with the highest percentage of black residents of any U.S. state . From the early 19th century to the 1930s , its residents were mostly black , a population that before the American Civil War was composed largely of African slaves . Whites retained political power through Jim Crow laws . In the first half of the 20th century , nearly 400,000 rural blacks left the state for work and opportunities in northern and midwestern cities , with another wave of migration around World War II to West Coast cities . In 2010 , 37 % of Mississippians were African Americans , the highest percentage of African Americans in any U.S. state . Since gaining enforcement of their voting franchise in the late 1960s , most African Americans support Democratic candidates in local , state and national elections . Conservative whites have shifted to the Republican Party . African Americans are a majority in many counties of the Mississippi-Yazoo Delta , an area of historic settlement during the plantation era . Since 2011 Mississippi has been ranked as the most religious state in the country .

New Orleans <=SEP=> New Orleans ( -LSB- nuː_ˈɔːrlᵻnz , _ - ˈɔːrli.ənz , _ - ɔːrˈliːnz -RSB- , or -LSB- ˈnɔːrlᵻnz -RSB- La Nouvelle-Orléans -LSB- la nuvɛlɔʁleɑ̃ -RSB- ) is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana . The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U.S. Census . The New Orleans metropolitan area ( New Orleans -- Metairie -- Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area ) had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States . The New Orleans -- Metairie -- Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area , a larger trading area , had a 2010 population of 1,452,502 .   It is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture , as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage . New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine , music ( particularly as the birthplace of jazz ) , and its annual celebrations and festivals , most notably Mardi Gras , dating to French colonial times . The city is often referred to as the `` most unique '' in the United States .   New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana , straddling the Mississippi River . The city and Orleans Parish ( paroisse d'Orléans ) are coterminous . The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north , St. Bernard to the east , Plaquemines to the south , and Jefferson to the south and west . Lake Pontchartrain , part of which is included in the city limits , lies to the north and Lake Borgne lies to the east .   Before Hurricane Katrina , Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana . As of 2015 , it ranks third in population , trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish , and East Baton Rouge Parish .