Summary: As hurricane season heats up, a growing number of properties located outside of FEMA-designated high-risk flood zones are actually flooding. The problem is especially bad in the urban areas of America’s cities. A national survey shows nearly 85% report experiencing urban flooding. Insurance claims are on the rise, too. Host Lisa Miller, a former deputy insurance commissioner, talks with Sam Brody of Texas A&M University about his latest research and fellow scientist and resiliency expert Alec Bogdanoff on how we can protect more homes and businesses from flooding. Show Notes “Urban flooding is kind of this hidden danger among all flood risks in the United States,” according to Dr. Sam Brody of Texas A&M University and Director of the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores. It occurs mostly in high growth areas, where development brings rain impervious surfaces, such as roads, driveways, and parking lots, which change the natural drainage pattern of the land. “It’s bringing flood impacts to unexpected areas, sometimes miles outside of the FEMA-designated 100-year flood plain.” Brody’s joint study with the University of Maryland is titled, The Growing Threat of Urban Flooding: A National Challenge 2018. The report revealed neighborhoods that were miles away from known flood risk zones but were surrounded by man-made barriers, such as roads, railroad tracks, and sound walls, referred to as “built environment barriers.” “These features of the built environment are creating the flood hazard and the associated impact. They’re either exacerbating or entirely creating the situation of risk. FEMA’s models, which are all based on stream channels, don’t account for these growing areas of risk and impact,” Brody said. He noted that 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, one of the largest flood events in U.S. history, exposed a lot of underlying conditions of urban flooding, especially in Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the country. The study looked primarily at rainfall, but urban flooding can occur with tidal events, too, including high-tide or “sunny day” flooding, as seen in some South Florida communities. Dr. Alec Bogdanoff is Principal Scientist and Co-Founder of Brizaga, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida based firm that assists businesses and communities in becoming more resilient to the effects of sea level rise and long-term environmental changes. He said some storm water systems, which are meant for collecting and sending rainwater out to sea are instead becoming conduits for saltwater to back up into communities during this period of sea level rise. “The challenge comes if you end up with a high-tide sunny day flooding example and instead of it being a sunny day, it’s a rainy day. You now have to wait for the tides to go down before that rainwater is going to go out,” Bogdanoff said. The study included a survey of more than 400 flood control professionals across all 50 states. It found that 83% had experienced urban flooding and 46% indicated it has occurred in numerous or most areas. “To me, the number one surprising result was that 85% of respondents experienced urban flooding outside of the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), which means this is a problem and it’s growing nationwide,” said Brody. “There are hotspots like Miami, Palm Beach, and Houston of urban flooding but this is something that needs to be addressed at all scales starting from the national level down to the local.” “This phenomenon is greatly affecting businesses and homes to the point that I think it should become a part of the conversation when it comes to insurance, to cover the losses that occur,” said host Lisa Miller. She pointed to the flood protection gap, which is the d(continued)
