FEMA director says agency's flood maps underestimate risk from extreme weather triggered by climate change

Another estimate: 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Flood maps used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are outdated and understate the risks from flooding and extreme rain triggered by climate change, FEMA Director Deanne Criswell said" on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

Criswell cited flooding in Jackson, Miss., that overwhelmed the city's main water plant and rendered city 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. Victoria Cavaliere of Bloomberg has a report.

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.