Inside Climate News

Chicago has experienced more frequent and severe storms in recent decades, putting immigrants and low income Chicagoans living in basement units at increased risk of flooding.

In flood-prone regions of the U.S., a growing number of cities, including Houston, have lost confidence in the ability of FEMA's ability to recognize the increasing risks that come with global warming. Cities are exceeding FEMA standards by developing their own flood standards, such as requirements for houses in the 500-year floodplain to adopt insurance.

FEMA flood maps don’t factor in sea level rise or changes in extreme weather, and many are years out of date. In Mexico Beach, 'minimal risk' homes were swept away and homeowners did not buy flood insurance because of this misinformation. Mexico Beach is but one example of how FEMA's flood maps are failing homeowners.

As the world warms, nighttime temperatures are slightly outpacing daytime temperatures in the rate of warming to the detriment of human health, which requires cooler temperatures for the body to recover from daytime heat. Crops are also damaged because heat triggers earlier and later frost-free dates, while cities must contend with higher fire risks.

At first, Sandy seemed to be the calamity that finally roused the country to climate change's many risks. But a chasm opened between the actions necessary to deal with that knowledge and what would actually get done. Emotional, psychological, economic, scientific, political and bureaucratic forces are buffeting rebuilding that has not accounted for rising seas.

Vermont's vulnerability to flooding was the harsh reality Irene drove home in 2011. After the otherwise unremarkable Category 1 storm, Vermont set about understanding the devastation and working toward resilience. The state passed legislation increasing government's role in flood response, and launched a series of websites to make residents aware of its programs.

By using climate forecasts created by the NOAA, FEMA has begun pre-positioning resources before a disaster strikes. 'In terms of preparedness and response, intelligence is the currency of the realm. Climate projections are a piece of the puzzle as valuable as any communications intelligence, or first-person intelligence. Without them, we won't have the full picture,' said Richard Spinrad, the chief scientist for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...

'Thanks to climate change, extreme weather disasters have hammered the United States with increasing frequency in recent years—from drought and wildfires to coastal storms and flooding. It is perhaps surprising, then, that FEMA doesn't account for climate change in most of its budget'...