However, according to estimates by climate research nonprofit First Street Foundation, a more accurate flooding model that takes climate change into consideration puts 51% of properties in those counties at risk for flood. Typically, when homeowners get mortgages in the area, they're required to purchase flood insurance. (For more about increasing flood risks, read Bruno D’Urso’s recent article: Making history: Flood risk is rising.)Ī growing body of research has found that current flood maps relied on to estimate the risk of flooding are falling short, underestimating potential risk, especially as climate change gets worse.Īccording to FEMA's flood maps, about 12% of properties in three of the hardest-hit Kentucky counties are in what the agency calls a 'Special Flood Hazard Area,' a zone that would be inundated during a 1-in-100-year flood event. Recent rainfall events and subsequent floods seem to support this data. According to the National Climate Assessment, the amount of rain falling in the heaviest rainstorms increased across the country between 19. Many believe that climate change is pushing more frequent and intense rainfall that is resulting in more flooding events. Some coined the summer of 2022 as “America’s summer of floods.” And the trend seems to be continuing. The same weather system caused far more destruction in Eastern Kentucky, where torrential rains ran off the area’s mountainous landscape. Louis, Missouri recorded a record rainfall 9.07″ within any 24-hour period. Death Valley National Park in California saw a year's worth of rainfall in three hours shutting down every road inside the park. Early estimates put estimated damages and economic losses somewhere around $6 billion. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a one-off event.Įarlier in August, a similar heavy rain event drenched southeastern Illinois with an estimated 10-13 inches of rain in just hours. On August 22, 2022, parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area saw as much as 15 inches of rain in an 18-hour period, causing significant flood damage.

Europe flood map