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FEMA Flood Maps Out-of-Date and Insufficient
Two recently released studies from the Association of State Floodplain Managers and a free-market think tank called the R Street Institute have outlined the ways in which FEMA's flood maps are "badly out-of-date" and insufficient. FEMA uses its flood maps to determine where flood insurance is required and to assist communities in determining where they should or shouldn't develop.
In their assessment, the Association of State Floodplain Managers found that FEMA's maps covered less than half of shorelines and only around a third of streams. Communities in these unmapped areas are less able to prepare for flooding as that flood data is not available to them. The R Street study compounds this issue by showing that the areas that are mapped are generally out-of-date as they do not account for climate change and as such do not incorporate projected sea-level rise or projected increases in precipitation.
In the Association's report, they estimate that the funding needed to complete FEMA's maps is somewhere between $3.2 billion and $11.8 billion. Additionally, $107 million to $480 million is needed annually to ensure that the maps are accurate and up-to-date. Unfortunately, the proposed budget from the Trump Administration cuts FEMA's flood-mapping budget by over 50%, from $263 million to $100 million in the fiscal year 2020. With this level of funding, FEMA will not be able to complete the flood maps and will also not have the necessary funding to maintain the accuracy of those maps.
To read the full report from the Association of State Floodplain Managers click
here
.
To read the full study from the R Street Institute click
here
.
Please contact Senior Policy Analyst, Chris Askew-Merwin, for more information.
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