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Newsweek
2 days ago
- Climate
- Newsweek
Texas Floods Could Worsen Housing Market Issues
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The flash floods that claimed the lives of at least 135 people in Texas Hill Country on July 4 also impacted thousands of properties that stood along their path of death and destruction, according to estimates by researchers at data-driven tech company Cotality. Using rainfall, stream gage, and property data, Cotality experts recreated the footprint of the flash floods in central Texas, finding that over 38,600 homes in nine counties deemed eligible for individual and public assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are likely to have been damaged during that tragic weekend. "Now, that is a model number, but we stand by it and feel very confident in this number. And that's everywhere from Kerr County to Travis County, in and around the Austin area," Jon Schneyer, Cotality director of research & content, told Newsweek. While not all of these homes are likely to have been damaged by the floods, all of them were at least impacted, with properties in Tom Green, Travis, Kerr, Williamson, and Burnet counties identified as the most at-risk. For homeowners impacted by the floods and for anyone living in this particular part of central Texas already grappling with the immense loss of life caused by the extreme weather event, the coming months are likely to bring new challenges, experts say, and additional financial burdens. A damaged house is seen near the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, on July 8 following severe flash flooding over the July 4 holiday weekend. A damaged house is seen near the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, on July 8 following severe flash flooding over the July 4 holiday weekend. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images What the Floods Could Do to Home Insurance Premiums The cost of home insurance has skyrocketed in recent years in Texas, reaching an average annual cost of $4,585 this year—117 percent more than the national average of $2,110, according to NerdWallet. Premiums are so expensive that many homeowners cannot afford them, and some are choosing to renounce paying extra for flood coverage, which is not included under the standard homeowner policy. "Remember, flood insurance is not offered as a standard homeowners insurance policy. You usually go and get your flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program through FEMA," Schneyer said. "Now, that is not required unless you have a mortgage and you're in the special flood hazard area or the 100-year flood zone." He added: "A lot of those homeowners, especially as you get outside of Kerrville or outside of Austin, might have already paid off their home, they are no longer required to have flood insurance." Cotality expects only a few homeowners to have flood insurance in this part of Texas. "They'll be able to apply for assistance through FEMA, but a majority of that damage, if they don't have flood insurance, it's going to be on the home and business owners to foot that bill," Schneyer said. "If your home cost $500,000 to rebuild entirely, that could be a pretty expensive recovery, not to mention the emotional and psychological damage from friends and neighbors losing their homes and livelihoods." Home insurance premiums could further rise as a result of the recent floods, exacerbating homeowners' existing struggles to protect their homes and even purchase properties. Bill Baldwin, board member of the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) and a broker with 90 agents under his direction, told Newsweek that the biggest challenge he faces in the industry today is insurance. "It's the unaffordability of insurance, the inability to get insurance," he said. Baldwin and his colleagues at HAR have spent "a ton of effort, money and cooperation on providing flood notices" in recent years, but despite all of this, he said, they have not observed any increase of people securing flood insurance in Houston. "We have fewer people today with flood insurance than had at the day Harvey hit," Baldwin added. "The year after Harvey hit, we saw an increase in flood insurance policies. The cost of the flood insurance policy went up. Now it's been five years, six years, seven years, and the homeowners today are different from the ones back then—half of the people weren't here when Harvey hit." It is a "constant battle" to convince local homeowners that they need insurance, Baldwin says, even if they live in flood-prone areas. "We're Texans, we are hard-headed, we have a mindset of our own," he said. "We think we're supermen when we're not, necessarily. And we often don't experience or expect the intensity of the extreme weather events that we're now seeing," Baldwin explained. "We feel like we're not as vulnerable as we perhaps are." Texas Floods Could Worsen Housing Market Issues Texas Floods Could Worsen Housing Market Issues Newsweek Illustration/Canva/Getty/AP Newsroom ...To Home Prices All of these upward pressures on the cost of homeownership will reduce the desirability of living in flood-prone areas, putting downward pressure on housing demand, Cameron LaPoint, real estate expert and assistant professor of finance at the Yale School of Management, told Newsweek. "We are already seeing similar out-migration trends in places like coastal Florida, where there are similar problems of severe natural disaster risk, unraveling insurance markets, and evidence of post-pandemic overbuilding," he said. "A lack of affordable insurance may push prospective homeowners to look elsewhere, such as in climate haven cities in the northern U.S. which are among the few housing markets growing right now." LaPoint believes the areas directly impacted by the flash flood are likely to face "a continued decline in house prices and rents, which was already in progress after the recovery from the pandemic." Other experts, however, are skeptical about the idea of people choosing to live elsewhere because of the floods. "It might temporarily influence some homebuyer decisions, but the appeal of those counties will not likely change," Dr. Daniel Oney, research director at the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, told Newsweek. "There may be some outside investor interest, but with mortgage rates currently high, investor activity is down overall—they rely on cheap credit to make their business models work." Baldwin is sure that Texas Hill Country will remain a popular vacation spot despite the risk of flash floods. "If you're from here, you've grown up going to the Guadalupe, or the Frio, or the Trinity. And it's a time-honored tradition to go to these places," he said. "Despite the tragedy, people will keep vacationing there, as we've seen people build after a hurricane or after other disasters. Houston is very hurricane-prone, but we added 75,000 people last year to the greater Houston area. They're not deciding against moving here because of the hurricane. They're learning to live with the new intensity of weather-related events." A Texas state flag flies in a yard filled with debris on July 6 in Hunt, Texas. A Texas state flag flies in a yard filled with debris on July 6 in Hunt, Rent Prices According to Oney, rent prices are likely to jump up in the short term in the areas affected by the floods. In the long term, it would be the "overall demand for those properties that will play a role," he told Newsweek. "Those communities have been popular for retirees and vacation homes because of the natural amenities," Oney said. "People's perceptions of risk are curious. In a few years we would expect the market dynamics to return to something like they were. Though rebuilding may try to avoid high flood risk areas." Baldwin fears the short-term impact that the communities along the Guadalupe River could suffer as tourism dries up and relocate to different parts of the state this summer, rather than any long-term impact. "Many of the people who are still on vacation around the greater Houston, Dallas, Austin area are gonna go to Fredericksburg or Round Top or Wimberley or one of these places that aren't necessarily related to the river, but they're still in the Hill Country and they have the same climate," he said. The greatest impact of this temporary exodus of tourists will be felt by working-class people, Baldwin added. "It's the maid who can't work in that deal, it's the lawn guy who doesn't have a job, it's the waitress who doesn't have anyone to wait on because the restaurant was closed for two weeks and did not have any unemployment insurance." These people, Baldwin said, need Texans' help—and he thinks locals will be rushing back to support them. "Because that's what Texans do," he said. ...And to Property Taxes LaPoint expects property tax revenues for the region affected by the flash floods to potentially shrink in the coming months, as homeowners impacted would either not be able to afford it or benefit from exemptions passed by appraisers as a form of relief. For example, Travis County, in Austin, is offering exemptions if the property suffered damages of at least 15 percent of its value, with up to a 100 percent exemption for those who suffered a total loss of their property. "More appraisers in flood-impacted counties are following suit," LaPoint said. At the same time, property tax bills could fall as a result of lower property values—at least in the short-term. "There is research showing that house prices fall in neighborhoods recently experiencing severe flooding, whether due to flash flooding or hurricanes. If price declines persist, this would also reduce future property tax revenues," LaPoint said. He added: "However, changes in house prices may not always translate to immediate changes in property tax bills due to the stickiness of assessed values and limits on rates. Recent amendments to property tax law in Texas increased homestead exemptions and made it more difficult for cities to raise rates. This will make it difficult for cities to close any short-run revenue gaps without aid from the state government." In its research, Cotality has found that areas that are frequently impacted by natural disasters experience a longer-term reduction in property values, while areas that are only occasionally hit experience a short-term drop. "What we have noticed is that over time, things start to regress back to normal. So especially in areas that are not impacted on a monthly or annual basis, if it's a decade in between flooding events, there's a bit of a short-term memory mentality." A person pays their respects at a memorial honoring the lives lost in the flash floods that claimed at least 135 lives on July 13 in Kerville, Texas. A person pays their respects at a memorial honoring the lives lost in the flash floods that claimed at least 135 lives on July 13 in Kerville, Changes We Can Expect the State Government to Make A majority of the experts who spoke to Newsweek expect the floods will not spur a seismic change in the state's real estate sector. "Texas is a strong property rights state. The governor [Greg Abbott] has called a special session with a few flood-related items, but they are limited to immediate relief efforts, flood warning systems, and streamlining regulations to help recovery," Oney said. "Additional property tax relief was on the session agenda before the floods. So, we don't expect the state to take any action that impacts markets long term because of this disaster." Texans who decide to stay in flood-prone areas are also unlikely to see much in the way of home improvement efforts, LaPoint said. "This is because it's difficult for individual homeowners to make these kinds of physical investments in their property—such as putting the home on stilts—given the relatively high costs involved," he said. "My research on Florida shows that publicly-backed loans can help homeowners fund hurricane-proofing projects that lower their insurance costs and increase the home's value. But projects like new window installations are much cheaper than flood prevention improvements." "Given the financial barriers faced by individual homeowners, there may be renewed calls from residents for the state to invest in key anti-flood prevention measures." Baldwin expects authorities to "probably increase the regulatory environment of a floodway" and update the maps the state is currently using to identify flood-prone areas—though that does not mean that those areas would be considered off-limits for developers, he said. "We're still going to build in these areas, we're just going to learn to build more resiliently," Baldwin added. "They will rebuild in some of these areas that some people would say you shouldn't be building in. It's probably not a practical solution. But it's how we build. People are driven to the coast, whether it's the East Coast, the West Coast, the Florida coast, or the Texas coast. So, you'll still have some development, you'll still have people willing to buy those structures." He continued: "There will be awareness for a brief period of time. But who's going to move there five years from now? They're going to be from California. They're going to be from the East Coast. They're not gonna have been there during that event. They'd have a small recollection, but no realistic experience. That's what happened in Houston. So, I still think people are gonna be at risk."
Fast Company
7 days ago
- Science
- Fast Company
Why FEMA's flood maps often miss dangerous flash flood risks
Deadly and destructive flash flooding in Texas and several other states in July 2025 is raising questions about the nation's flood maps and their ability to ensure that communities and homeowners can prepare for rising risks. The same region of Texas Hill Country where a flash flood on July 4 killed more than 130 people was hit again with downpours a week later, forcing searchers to temporarily pause their efforts to find missing victims. Other states, including New Mexico, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Iowa, also saw flash flood damage in July. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood maps are intended to be the nation's primary tool for identifying flood risks. Originally developed in the 1970s to support the National Flood Insurance Program, these maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps, or FIRMs, are used to determine where flood insurance is required for federally backed mortgages, to inform local building codes and land-use decisions, and to guide flood plain management strategies. In theory, the maps enable homeowners, businesses, and local officials to understand their flood risk and take appropriate steps to prepare and mitigate potential losses. But while FEMA has improved the accuracy and accessibility of the maps over time with better data, digital tools, and community input, the maps still don't capture everything—including the changing climate. There are areas of the country that flood, some regularly, that don't show up on the maps as at risk. I study flood-risk mapping as a university-based researcher and at First Street, an organization created to quantify and communicate climate risk. In a 2023 assessment using newly modeled flood zones with climate-adjusted precipitation records, we found that more than twice as many properties across the country were at risk of a 100-year flood than the FEMA maps identified. Even in places where the FEMA maps identified a flood risk, we found that the federal mapping process, its overreliance on historical data, and political influence over the updating of maps can lead to maps that don't fully represent an area's risk. What FEMA flood maps miss FEMA's maps are essential tools for identifying flood risks, but they have significant gaps that limit their effectiveness. One major limitation is that they don't consider flooding driven by intense bursts of rain. The maps primarily focus on river channels and coastal flooding, largely excluding the risk of flash flooding, particularly along smaller waterways such as streams, creeks, and tributaries. This limitation has become more important in recent years due to climate change. Rising global temperatures can result , leaving more areas vulnerable to flooding, yet unmapped by FEMA. For example, when flooding from Hurricane Helene hit unmapped areas around Asheville, North Carolina, in 2024, it caused a huge amount of uninsured damage to properties. Even in areas that are mapped, like the Camp Mystic site in Kerr County, Texas, that was hit by a deadly flash flood on July 4, 2025, the maps may underestimate their risk because of a reliance on historic data and outdated risk assessments. Political influence can fuel long delays Additionally, FEMA's mapping process is often shaped by political pressures. Local governments and developers sometimes fight high-risk designations to avoid insurance mandates or restrictions on development, leading to maps that may understate actual risks and leave residents unaware of their true exposure. An example is New York City's appeal of a 2015 FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps update. The delay in resolving the city's concerns has left it with maps that are roughly 20 years old, and the current mapping project is tied up in legal red tape. On average, it takes five to seven years to develop and implement a new FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map. As a result, many maps across the U.S. are significantly out of date, often failing to reflect current land use, urban development, or evolving flood risks from extreme weather. This delay directly affects building codes and infrastructure planning, as local governments rely on these maps to guide construction standards, development approvals, and flood mitigation projects. Ultimately, outdated maps can lead to underestimating flood risks and allowing vulnerable structures to be built in areas that face growing flood threats. How technology advances can help New advances in satellite imaging, rainfall modeling, and high-resolution lidar, which is similar to radar but uses light, make it possible to create faster, more accurate flood maps that capture risks from extreme rainfall and flash flooding. However, fully integrating these tools requires significant federal investment. Congress controls FEMA's mapping budget and sets the legal framework for how maps are created. For years, updating the flood maps has been an unpopular topic among many publicly elected officials, because new flood designations can trigger stricter building codes, higher insurance costs, and development restrictions. In recent years, the rise of climate risk analytics models and private flood risk data have allowed the real estate, finance and insurance industries to rely less on FEMA's maps. These new models incorporate forward-looking climate data, including projections of extreme rainfall, sea-level rise and changing storm patterns—factors FEMA's maps generally exclude. Real estate portals like Zillow, Redfin, and now provide property-level flood risk scores that consider both historical flooding and future climate projections. The models they use identify risks for many properties that FEMA maps don't, highlighting hidden vulnerabilities in communities across the U.S. Research shows that the availability, and accessibility, of climate data on these sites has started driving property-buying decisions that increasingly take climate change into account. Implications for the future As homebuyers understand more about a property's flood risks, that may shift the desirability of some locations over time. Those shifts will have implications for property valuations, community tax-revenue assessments, population migration patterns, and a slew of other considerations. However, while these may feel like changes being brought on by new data, the risk was already there. What is changing is people's awareness. The federal government has an important role to play in ensuring that accurate risk assessments are available to individuals and communities everywhere. As better tools and models evolve for assessing risk evolve, FEMA's risk maps need to evolve, too.
CBS News
14-07-2025
- Science
- CBS News
FEMA's flood maps often miss dangerous flash flood risks, leaving homeowners unprepared
Jeremy Porter is a professor of quantitative methods in the social sciences at the City University of New York. Deadly and destructive flash flooding in Texas and several other states in July 2025 is raising questions about the nation's flood maps and their ability to ensure that communities and homeowners can prepare for rising risks. The same region of Texas Hill Country where a flash flood on July 4 killed more than 130 people was hit again with downpours a week later, forcing searchers to temporarily pause their efforts to find missing victims. Other states including New Mexico, Oklahoma, Vermont and Iowa also saw flash flood damage in July. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood maps are intended to be the nation's primary tool for identifying flood risks. Originally developed in the 1970s to support the National Flood Insurance Program, these maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps, or FIRMs, are used to determine where flood insurance is required for federally backed mortgages, to inform local building codes and land-use decisions, and to guide flood plain management strategies. In theory, the maps enable homeowners, businesses and local officials to understand their flood risk and take appropriate steps to prepare and mitigate potential losses. But while FEMA has improved the accuracy and accessibility of the maps over time with better data, digital tools and community input, the maps still don't capture everything — including the changing climate. There are areas of the country that flood, some regularly, that don't show up on the maps as at risk. I study flood-risk mapping as a university-based researcher and at First Street, an organization created to quantify and communicate climate risk. In a 2023 assessment using newly modeled flood zones with climate-adjusted precipitation records, we found that more than twice as many properties across the country were at risk of a 100-year flood than the FEMA maps identified. Even in places where the FEMA maps identified a flood risk, we found that the federal mapping process, its overreliance on historical data, and political influence over the updating of maps can lead to maps that don't fully represent an area's risk. What FEMA flood maps miss FEMA's maps are essential tools for identifying flood risks, but they have significant gaps that limit their effectiveness. One major limitation is that they don't consider flooding driven by intense bursts of rain. The maps primarily focus on river channels and coastal flooding, largely excluding the risk of flash flooding, particularly along smaller waterways such as streams, creeks and tributaries. This limitation has become more important in recent years due to climate change. Rising global temperatures can result in more frequent extreme downpours, leaving more areas vulnerable to flooding, yet unmapped by FEMA. For example, when flooding from Hurricane Helene hit unmapped areas around Asheville, North Carolina, in 2024, it caused a huge amount of uninsured damage to properties. Even in areas that are mapped, like the Camp Mystic site in Kerr County, Texas, that was hit by a deadly flash flood on July 4, 2025, the maps may underestimate their risk because of a reliance on historic data and outdated risk assessments. Political influence can fuel long delays Additionally, FEMA's mapping process is often shaped by political pressures. Local governments and developers sometimes fight to avoid high-risk designations to avoid insurance mandates or restrictions on development, leading to maps that may understate actual risks and leave residents unaware of their true exposure. An example is New York City's appeal of a 2015 FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps update. The delay in resolving the city's concerns has left it with maps that are roughly 20 years old, and the current mapping project is tied up in legal red tape. On average, it takes five to seven years to develop and implement a new FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map. As a result, many maps across the U.S. are significantly out of date, often failing to reflect current land use, urban development or evolving flood risks from extreme weather. This delay directly affects building codes and infrastructure planning, as local governments rely on these maps to guide construction standards, development approvals and flood mitigation projects. Ultimately, outdated maps can lead to underestimating flood risks and allowing vulnerable structures to be built in areas that face growing flood threats. How technology advances can help New advances in satellite imaging, rainfall modeling and high-resolution lidar, which is similar to radar but uses light, make it possible to create faster, more accurate flood maps that capture risks from extreme rainfall and flash flooding. However, fully integrating these tools requires significant federal investment. Congress controls FEMA's mapping budget and sets the legal framework for how maps are created. For years, updating the flood maps has been an unpopular topic among many publicly elected officials, because new flood designations can trigger stricter building codes, higher insurance costs and development restrictions. In recent years, the rise of climate risk analytics models and private flood risk data have allowed the real estate, finance and insurance industries to rely less on FEMA's maps. These new models incorporate forward-looking climate data, including projections of extreme rainfall, sea-level rise and changing storm patterns — factors FEMA's maps generally exclude. Real estate portals like Zillow, Redfin, and now provide property-level flood risk scores that consider both historical flooding and future climate projections. The models they use identify risks for many properties that FEMA maps don't, highlighting hidden vulnerabilities in communities across the United States. Research shows that the availability, and accessibility, of climate data on these sites has started driving property-buying decisions that increasingly take climate change into account. Implications for the future As homebuyers understand more about a property's flood risks, that may shift the desirability of some locations over time. Those shifts will have implications for property valuations, community tax-revenue assessments, population migration patterns and a slew of other considerations. However, while these may feel like changes being brought on by new data, the risk was already there. What is changing is people's awareness. The federal government has an important role to play in ensuring that accurate risk assessments are available to communities and Americans everywhere. As better tools and models evolve for assessing risk evolve, FEMA's risk maps need to evolve, too.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
FEMA's flood maps often miss dangerous flash flood risks, leaving homeowners unprepared
The deadly flash flooding in Texas on July 4, 2025, and destructive flash floods a week later in states including New Mexico, Vermont and Iowa are raising questions about the nation's flood maps and their ability to ensure that communities and homeowners can prepare for rising risks. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood maps are intended to be the nation's primary tool for identifying flood risks. Originally developed in the 1970s to support the National Flood Insurance Program, these maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps, or FIRMs, are used to determine where flood insurance is required for federally backed mortgages, to inform local building codes and land-use decisions, and to guide flood plain management strategies. In theory, the maps enable homeowners, businesses and local officials to understand their flood risk and take appropriate steps to prepare and mitigate potential losses. But while FEMA has improved the accuracy and accessibility of the maps over time with better data, digital tools and community input, the maps still don't capture everything – including the changing climate. There are areas of the country that flood, some regularly, that don't show up on the maps as at risk. I study flood-risk mapping as a university-based researcher and at First Street, an organization created to quantify and communicate climate risk. In a 2023 assessment using newly modeled flood zones with climate-adjusted precipitation records, we found that more than twice as many properties across the country were at risk of a 100-year flood than the FEMA maps identified. Even in places where the FEMA maps identified a flood risk, we found that the federal mapping process, its overreliance on historical data, and political influence over the updating of maps can lead to maps that don't fully represent an area's risk. FEMA's maps are essential tools for identifying flood risks, but they have significant gaps that limit their effectiveness. One major limitation is that they don't consider flooding driven by intense bursts of rain. The maps primarily focus on river channels and coastal flooding, largely excluding the risk of flash flooding, particularly along smaller waterways such as streams, creeks and tributaries. This limitation has become more important in recent years due to climate change. Rising global temperatures can result in more frequent extreme downpours, leaving more areas vulnerable to flooding, yet unmapped by FEMA. For example, when flooding from Hurricane Helene hit unmapped areas around Asheville, North Carolina, in 2024, it caused a huge amount of uninsured damage to properties. Even in areas that are mapped, like the Camp Mystic site in Kerr County, Texas, that was hit by a deadly flash flood on July 4, 2025, the maps may underestimate their risk because of a reliance on historic data and outdated risk assessments. Additionally, FEMA's mapping process is often shaped by political pressures. Local governments and developers sometimes fight to avoid high-risk designations to avoid insurance mandates or restrictions on development, leading to maps that may understate actual risks and leave residents unaware of their true exposure. An example is New York City's appeal of a 2015 FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps update. The delay in resolving the city's concerns has left it with maps that are roughly 20 years old, and the current mapping project is tied up in legal red tape. On average, it takes five to seven years to develop and implement a new FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map. As a result, many maps across the U.S. are significantly out of date, often failing to reflect current land use, urban development or evolving flood risks from extreme weather. This delay directly affects building codes and infrastructure planning, as local governments rely on these maps to guide construction standards, development approvals and flood mitigation projects. Ultimately, outdated maps can lead to underestimating flood risks and allowing vulnerable structures to be built in areas that face growing flood threats. New advances in satellite imaging, rainfall modeling and high-resolution lidar, which is similar to radar but uses light, make it possible to create faster, more accurate flood maps that capture risks from extreme rainfall and flash flooding. However, fully integrating these tools requires significant federal investment. Congress controls FEMA's mapping budget and sets the legal framework for how maps are created. For years, updating the flood maps has been an unpopular topic among many publicly elected officials, because new flood designations can trigger stricter building codes, higher insurance costs and development restrictions. In recent years, the rise of climate risk analytics models and private flood risk data have allowed the real estate, finance and insurance industries to rely less on FEMA's maps. These new models incorporate forward-looking climate data, including projections of extreme rainfall, sea-level rise and changing storm patterns – factors FEMA's maps generally exclude. Real estate portals like Zillow, Redfin, and now provide property-level flood risk scores that consider both historical flooding and future climate projections. The models they use identify risks for many properties that FEMA maps don't, highlighting hidden vulnerabilities in communities across the United States. Research shows that the availability, and accessibility, of climate data on these sites has started driving property-buying decisions that increasingly take climate change into account. As homebuyers understand more about a property's flood risks, that may shift the desirability of some locations over time. Those shifts will have implications for property valuations, community tax-revenue assessments, population migration patterns and a slew of other considerations. However, while these may feel like changes being brought on by new data, the risk was already there. What is changing is people's awareness. The federal government has an important role to play in ensuring that accurate risk assessments are available to communities and Americans everywhere. As better tools and models evolve for assessing risk evolve, FEMA's risk maps need to evolve, too. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Jeremy Porter, City University of New York Read more: Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed more than 120 people, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding Why it can be hard to warn people about dangers like floods – communication researchers explain the role of human behavior The aftermath of floods, hurricanes and other disasters can be hardest on older rural Americans – here's how families and neighbors can help Jeremy Porter has nothing to disclose.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Is your house in a flood zone? This map has the answer
Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States, and it doesn't take a major storm to create major problems. Now, a free tool makes it easier than ever to check whether your property is at risk. The FEMA Flood Map Service Center offers an interactive map that allows anyone in the U.S. to enter their address and see if they live in a designated flood zone. The tool can also be used to explore other areas, making it helpful for those planning a move, managing a rental property or checking on family or friends in another region. "The FEMA Flood Map Service Center (MSC) is the official public source for flood hazard information produced in support of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)," FEMA said on its website. "Use the MSC to find your official flood map, access a range of other flood hazard products, and take advantage of tools for better understanding flood risk." Flood maps aren't set in stone. FEMA works with local communities through its Risk MAP program to collect updated data on flood hazards. As weather patterns shift and development continues, flood zones can change, which can put new properties in the path of floodwaters. What to do if you are in a flood zone It doesn't take feet of water to cause thousands of dollars in damage. Even an inch of floodwater inside a home can lead to ruined flooring, structural issues and long-term concerns like mold. "Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage," FEMA said. "Flood insurance is a separate policy that can cover buildings, the contents in a building, or both, so it is important to protect your most important assets - your home, your business, your possessions." Flood insurance can be expensive, but it is important when flooding strikes. In Texas, only around 7% of all homes are covered under flood insurance, meaning some people severely impacted by the recent deadly flooding could be responsible for the damage to their properties. If you find your home is in a flood-prone area or you simply want to be better prepared, experts suggest following the RISK framework: •R: Reduce your risk: Take action around your property to lower the chance of flood damage when heavy rain strikes. This ranges from having a working sump pump in your basement to reporting clogged storm drains on your street. •I: Insure your risk: Talk with a representative with your home insurance company to assess your needs. Some homeowners may want to purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). •S: Share information on risk: Talk with your neighbors who may face a similar flood threat. •K: Know your risk: Use tools like FEMA's Flood Map Service Center to understand the risk of flooding in your area. Residents can also contact local officials and emergency management offices for more specific information for their location.
