FEMA director says its flood maps underestimate risk from extreme weather triggered by climate change - Entrepreneur Generations

Counties ranked in ranges of percentages of property at risk for flood damage
First Street Foundation map; click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

Flood maps used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are out of date and understate the risks to homes and businesses from flooding and extreme rain triggered by climate change, FEMA Director Deanne Criswell said" on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Victoria Cavaliere reports for Bloomberg.

Criswell cited the flooding in Jackson, Miss., that overwhelmed the city's main water treatment plant and rendered the municipal water unsafe to use. "We have to start thinking about what the threats are going to be in the future as a result of climate change," Criswell said.

This summer's flash flooding in Eastern Kentucky is another example. Nicolas Zegre, an associate professor of forest hydrology at the University of West Virginia, recently called Appalachia 'climate zero,' saying it is among the first to face the climate consequences of decades of coal mining.

"A 2020 evaluation of flood risk by nonprofit group First Street Foundation that analyzed every property in the 48 contiguous U.S. states found that federal maps underestimate the number of homes and businesses in significant danger by 67%, Cavaliere reports.



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