US flood maps used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency have grown obsolete, according to FEMA chief Deanne Criswell — and it’s all due of heavy rainfall induced by climate change.
According to Bloomberg, Criswell said on CNN’s “State of the Union” programme on Sunday that US flood maps often highlight riverine and coastal flooding.
Because of this, Criswell added, “the thing that’s particularly challenging right now is that our flood maps don’t take into account significant rain that comes in.” “And we are seeing these rainfall records that are occurring.”
These flood maps often exclude record rainfall that is troubling regions of the US, such the floods in Jackson, Mississippi, in recent weeks, and dramatically underestimate the danger of flooding to American homes and businesses.
According to CNN, the Jackson water crisis was so severe that over 150,000 people were left without access to clean drinking water, and the city briefly ran out of bottled water for its citizens.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that climate change is also causing a water calamity that might affect areas outside of Jackson, in addition to causing wildfires and storms in the past.
FEMA’s maps now emphasise coastal flooding and riverine floods, and we collaborate with local governments to update the maps, according to Criswell.
“We need to begin planning for the risks that climate change may bring about in the future.”
Records for rainfall in three US states go back a century.
FEMA would collaborate with local communities, according to Criswell, “to better determine what their requirements are and assist them construct stronger predictive models.”
In order to put mitigation measures in place, she added, “we have to start thinking about what the dangers will be in the future as a consequence of climate change.”
According to The Guardian, rainfall in Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois this month broke records that had stood for 100 years.