BLOOMBERG • September 5, 2022
Flood maps used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are out of date and understate the risks to homes and businesses from flooding and extreme rain triggered by climate change, FEMA Director Deanne Criswell said. Complicating the matter is that climate-fueled extreme weather can be hard to predict, as well as whether a city or town’s infrastructure can hold up, she said. 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 percent.