FEMA Flood Maps Ignore Climate Change, and Homeowners Are Paying the Price

The flood maps don’t factor in sea level rise or changes in extreme weather, and many are years out of date. In Mexico Beach, 'minimal-risk' homes were swept away.

insideclimatenews.org - by James Bruggers - November 1, 2018

The official map laid it out for more than 200 homes within the community of Mexico Beach, Florida: the federal government had characterized their flooding risks as minimal, despite their near-beachfront locations.

That meant for them there were no requirements to buy flood insurance, and local residents say many did not.

When Hurricane Michael and its 155-mile-per-hour winds slammed into the town on Oct. 10, with a storm surge of perhaps 19 feet, the result was devastation. An analysis by coastal geologists from Western Carolina University has found that 70 percent of the homes were demolished. Another 10 percent were severely damaged.

Mexico Beach turns out to be a vivid example of how FEMA's flood maps—part of the troubled National Flood Insurance Program—are failing millions of Americans who own property in low-lying areas along coastal zones, rivers or streams. The problems are made worse as more people build in risky areas and as FEMA fails to factor in how global warming is changing the climate.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - FEMA - Flood Map Service Center - City of Mexico Beach, Florida

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Estimates of present and future flood risk in the conterminous United States

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Office of Inspector General - DHS - FEMA Needs to Improve Management of Its Flood Mapping Programs (26 page .PDF report)

CLICK HERE - Outdated and Unreliable: FEMA’s Faulty Flood Maps Put Homeowners at Risk

(SEE FLOOD MAP IN ATTACHMENT BELOW - City of Mexico Beach, Florida)