Residents in cities like Hollywood, Florida, pictured here during a King Tide on Oct. 17, 2016, will be forced to move inland as sea levels rise.

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The influx of millions of climate migrants,people escaping rising sea levels,will likely place heavy burdens on landlocked cities like Atlanta, Houston and Phoenix by the end of the century, a team of scientists says.

In a , researchers with theUniversity of Georgia estimate that about 13.1 million people will be displaced by rising sea levels by the year 2100 and be forced to move to inland cities, some of which are already grappling with water management and growth issues.

The scientists say their study is the firstto create a model of where people living in heavily populated coastal communities will go as theoceans rise.

“We typically think about sea level rise as a coastal issue, but if people are forced to move because their houses become inundated, the migration could affect many landlocked communities as well,” the study’s lead author, Mathew Hauer, ofthe University of Georgia's Department of Geography, said in a news release.

The scientists note that there have been many assessments of how sea-level rise will affect coastal infrastructure, but few that have studied where people living in coastal communities will go orhow landlocked cities will deal with the influx of people escapingrising seas.

The researchers looked at estimates of populations at riskand concluded that should ocean levels rise by 6 feet by 2100, which iswithin the projections noted in recent studies, 13.1 million people will have to find a new place to live.

Texas would likely gain the most migrants as people escape low-lying areas in the state, as well as from coastal Louisiana and Virginia. The Texas cities of Austin and Round Rock would gainas many as 820,000 new residents, the scientists say.

Orlando and Atlanta are also expected to receive more than 250,000 climate migrantsthrough 2100.

Hauer says it would be prudent for inland cities to begin preparing for the migration of people.

“Some of the anticipated landlocked destinations,such as Las Vegas, Atlanta and Riverside, California,already struggle with water management or growth management challenges,” Hauer said. “Incorporating accommodation strategies in strategic long-range planning could help alleviate the potential future intensification of these challenges.”