we found that the federal mapping process, its overreliance on historical data, and political influence over the updating of ...

Using their own data, the group discovered more than 4,500 homes were actually in danger. Even when FEMA does mark the most dangerous flood areas, though, those warnings are not always heeded.

FEMA's maps are essential tools for identifying flood risks, but they have significant gaps that limit their effectiveness. One major limitation is that they don't consider flooding driven by ...

advertisement 07-16-2025 IMPACT Why FEMA’s flood maps often miss dangerous flash flood risks There are areas of the country that flood, some regularly, that don’t show up on the maps as at risk.

A map of a section of Kerr County, Texas, where a deadly flood struck on July 4, 2025, compares the FEMA flood map’s 100-year flood zone (red) to First Street’s more detailed 100-year flood ...

I study flood-risk mapping as a university-based researcher and at First Street, an organization created to quantify and communicate climate risk. In a 2023 assessment using newly modeled flood ...