13 Million High-Risk Homes Sit Outside FEMA Flood Zones as El Niño Looms

Homeowners across the country could enter a potentially historic El Niño winter believing their home sits safely outside a high-risk flood zone—because according to FEMA's maps, they do.But nearly 13 million properties outside the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Special Flood Hazard Areas are considered high risk by climate-risk firm First Street, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last week.Flood risk caused by heavy rain accounts for much of the mismatch. Among the high-risk properties First Street identified outside FEMA’s zones, 62% had rainfall alone as their predominant flood threat.Those properties also sit on the side of FEMA’s maps where federal flood insurance is far less common. About 43% of properties inside Special Flood Hazard Areas had National Flood Insurance Program coverage as of April, compared with just 2% outside them.The findings come as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the current El Niño has a greater than 90% chance of becoming “very strong” this fall and winter, with wetter-than-normal conditions favored across much of the southern United States.The coming winter could expose the consequence...