Source: Fortune
Summary
FEMA’s flood plain maps are outdated and don’t account for actual risks as climate change increases the odds of extreme weather. Many areas, including some Michigan counties, have never been mapped, leaving homeowners without financial protection. The agency’s mapping method is based on risks of rivers, streams, and other waterways overflowing their banks, but doesn’t account for flooding caused by heavy rainfall. Experts say FEMA’s maps are “missing a whole source of flooding.” The General Accounting Office raised concerns five years ago that FEMA’s flood hazard maps didn’t reflect the best available climate science or heavy rainfall.
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The numbers tell one story.
FEMA’s mapping progress is slow in rural areas, with about two-thirds of the country’s streams, rivers, and coastlines unmapped. The agency has historically prioritized places with the greatest population and risk, leaving many areas without accurate flood-risk information. Homeowners and communities are left to seek information beyond what FEMA provides. FEMA’s National Risk Index gives a low score to communities without a flood plain map, which can give people a false sense of security. The agency’s mapping method is based on outdated data and doesn’t account for the increasing risks of extreme weather.
The announcement sounds familiar. FEMA’s flood plain maps are outdated, and the agency’s mapping method is based on risks of rivers, streams, and other waterways overflowing their banks, but doesn’t account for flooding caused by heavy rainfall. The agency’s National Risk Index gives a low score to communities without a flood plain map, which can give people a false sense of security. Experts say FEMA’s maps are “missing a whole source of flooding.” The General Accounting Office raised concerns five years ago that FEMA’s flood hazard maps didn’t reflect the best available climate science or heavy rainfall.
FEMA’s mapping progress is slow in rural areas, with about two-thirds of the country’s streams, rivers, and coastlines unmapped. The agency has historically prioritized places with the greatest population and risk, leaving many areas without accurate flood-risk information. Homeowners and communities are left to seek information beyond what FEMA provides.
The strategy enters a familiar phase. FEMA’s mapping method is based on outdated data and doesn’t account for the increasing risks of extreme weather. The agency’s National Risk Index gives a low score to communities without a flood plain map, which can give people a false sense of security. Experts say FEMA’s maps are “missing a whole source of flooding.” The General Accounting Office raised concerns five years ago that FEMA’s flood hazard maps didn’t reflect the best available climate science or heavy rainfall.
FEMA’s mapping progress is slow in rural areas, with about two-thirds of the country’s streams, rivers, and coastlines unmapped. The agency has historically prioritized places with the greatest population and risk, leaving many areas without accurate flood-risk information. Homeowners and communities are left to seek information beyond what FEMA provides.
You should never be lulled into complacency that, ‘Oh geez we just had the big flood so we’re good for another 100 years or another 500 years.’ Mother Nature does not obey statistical averages.
Author: Evan Null
