WASHINGTON — Flood maps utilized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are outdated and understate the dangers to houses and companies from flooding and excessive rain triggered by local weather change, FEMA Director Deanne Criswell mentioned.
Those dangers are in focus after flooding in Jackson, Mississippi, overwhelmed town’s important water remedy plant every week in the past, leaving greater than 150,000 residents of the area with out protected water. Criswell mentioned there’s no timeline for restoring service to Jackson, the capital metropolis.
“I think the part that’s really difficult right now is the fact that our flood maps don’t take into account excessive rain that comes in,” Criswell mentioned on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“And we are seeing these record rainfalls that are happening.”
Complicating the matter is that climate-fueled excessive climate may be exhausting to foretell, in addition to whether or not a metropolis or city’s infrastructure can maintain up, she mentioned.
“We have to start thinking about what the threats are going to be in the future as a result of climate change,” Criswell mentioned.
A 2020 analysis of flood danger by nonprofit group First Street Foundation that analyzed each property within the 48 contiguous U.S. states discovered that federal maps underestimate the variety of houses and companies in vital hazard by 67%.
“FEMA’s maps right now are really focused on riverine flooding and coastal flooding and we work with local jurisdictions to update the maps,” Criswell mentioned.
The water disaster in Jackson illustrates how America’s water methods had been constructed for a local weather that not exists. The majority-Black metropolis has additionally been stricken by a mix of underinvestment, crumbling infrastructure and extra excessive climate.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba mentioned on ABC’s “This Week” he was “optimistic” about progress towards restoring protected water inside days.
“We’re seeing not only the age … and the wear and tear on our system but we’re seeing the effects of climate change,” Lumumba mentioned. “We have colder winters, hotter summers and more annual precipitation, and all of that is taking a toll on our water infrastructure.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”