![]() “This is because models are getting more accurate in terms of which areas are most likely to be at flood risk,” said de Sherbinin. But in August 2020, became the first site to let users know about every home’s flood risk and how climate change could increase that risk in the next few decades. Yet, real-estate websites like Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia, have refused to share information about flood risk with users, according to NPR. While in many cases, FEMA-funded home-buyout programs are the only way to help vulnerable communities move further inland, experts say there is also a need for more reliable and data and jargon-free flood risk information for buyers. ![]() In the past 20 years, flood-related disasters have cost the United States more than $845 billion in damages to homes, offices, and other infrastructure. The need for more transparency and regulations They could potentially be at risk of losing their property,” says de Sherbinin. “That is going to affect low-income people particularly hard. That means homeowner insurance payments may go from $600 a year to up to $3,000 to $6,000 by 2022. To make matters worse for homeowners, the cost of federal flood insurance is rising as climate change increases damages to homes. In addition, town planners and mayors may be hesitant to declare large areas of their town off-limits to further construction, said de Sherbinin. In some cases, wealthy people can exert influence to resist risk-mapping that would negatively impact their property values. This is the kind of thing that’s happening in countless communities,” said de Sherbinin. “The issue of transparency regarding flood risk is a critical one.” Later, when she moved in, she found out that it would cost around $100,000 to $150,000 to raise her house on stilts - which was almost as much as she paid to buy that property. She was aware that it had flooded during Hurricane Sandy and that the house was likely to get flooded again. But she was assured that it would only cost $15,000 to build stilts that would elevate the house from the ground and reduce the risk of flooding. So, she bought a bay-side house in New Jersey that was separated from the water only by a narrow strip of land. That’s too simplistic.”įor instance, de Sherbinin said, his friend (who is not a scientist) always wanted to live in a coastal area. “I don’t think we can blame people who live in flood plains or those who moved to remote areas in forests that are at high risk of wildfire. “In America, we tend to say people should not have been living in these zones in the first place,” said Alexander de Sherbinin, a senior research scientist at the Earth Institute’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network. State of the Planet followed up with some of the panel participants as well as other experts to learn more. During a recent webinar hosted by the Earth Institute’s Initiative on Communication and Sustainability, researchers explored why. And the number of people and properties at risk from climate change-related disasters - not just flooding - is growing, too. The threat of frequent flood events is growing, thanks to climate change. That roughly equals three times more than FEMA’s estimates of residents who live in areas with a 1 percent chance of floods striking during any year.Ī calculation in mid-2020 estimated that at least 14.6 million properties are located in the 100-year flood zone, according to First Street Foundation, a group of New York-based academics and experts. But over the last few years, researchers have found that the government’s estimates are far lower than the ground realities.Ī 2018 study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters states that, taking into account the risk of flooding from rivers, about 41 million people are exposed to flood risk. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that around 13 million Americans are living within a 100-year flood zone. Flooding in Longmont, Colorado in September 2013.
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