flood maps News

Update: FEMA Flood Maps are Misleading, Blocking Insurance Uptake, Report Shows

This article was updated Nov. 6, 2022 to include more information from FEMA and Neptune Flood Insurance. Researchers at North Carolina State University have added their voices to the growing number of people who say that federal flood maps are …

Ida’s Inland Path May Reveal Hidden Risk, Test Mapping Methods of Hurricane Floods

With remnants of Ida delivering downpours and fierce winds from North Carolina to New Jersey, U.S. government methods for assessing flood risks may be put to the test this week. While coastal communities would seem to have the biggest risk …

Investors Betting Against U.S. Mortgage Market Are Banking on Mispriced Flood Risk

David Burt helped two of the protagonists of Michael Lewis’ book The Big Short bet against the U.S. mortgage market in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Now he’s betting against the market again, but this time, the risk …

Fight Against Floods Enlists Supercomputers, Drones, Sonar

An arsenal of new technology is being put to the test fighting floods this year as rivers inundate towns and farm fields across the central United States. Drones, supercomputers and sonar that scans deep under water are helping to maintain …

Idaho City Assessing Flood Risks Prior to Federal Maps Release

Boise, Idaho officials have expressed concerns with federal maps that propose adding hundreds of acres to a flood plain in the city, which could increase the cost and difficulty of buying or developing nearby property. The city disagrees with the …

Corps: Flood Protection Plan for Souris River Could Cost Up to $1B

The Army Corps of Engineers has released a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Souris River flood protection project in North Dakota’s Ward County and is accepting public comments through Dec. 22. The Minot Daily News reports that the …

Council Bluffs, Iowa Repairing, Upgrading Flood Protection System

Council Bluffs, Iowa, officials are working to strengthen the levees protecting the western Iowa city before homeowners are forced to pay higher premiums for flood insurance. The Daily Nonpareil reports the city wants to complete the levee projects before the …

New Flood Maps May Aid Big Development in Louisiana Parish

Revised flood maps could aid a developer’s proposal to build on one of Jefferson Parish’s last large undeveloped tracts. Lafayette-based Southern Lifestyle Development says it’s in talks to buy 2,000 acres in Avondale, near the TPC of Louisiana golf course …

North Carolina Town to Challenge Federal Flood Maps

Officials in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., plan to challenge new federal flood plain maps in a move that could save some residents thousands of dollars in insurance premiums. The StarNews of Wilmington reports the town’s board of aldermen agreed Sept. 10 …

Flood Maps Still Wrong, Oregon Homeowners Still Paying

Months after Carol Justice was wrongly told her home needs flood insurance, the Cornelius resident is still paying up – even though a surveyor has since determined her house is not in the flood zone. Justice is one of hundreds …