{"id":1845072,"date":"2025-10-19T20:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T00:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1845072"},"modified":"2025-10-24T08:40:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T12:40:19","slug":"why-fema-flood-maps-are-contentious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/10\/why-fema-flood-maps-are-contentious\/","title":{"rendered":"Why FEMA Flood Maps Are Contentious"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two recent articles on the contentiousness that breaks out at the local level when FEMA updates its flood maps. Jordan Wolman\u2019s piece in the Commonwealth Beacon<\/em><\/a> focuses on the disconnect between FEMA\u2019s maps and actual flooding risk in Massachusetts (as has been noted before<\/a>, FEMA flood maps are based on past flooding and can\u2019t<\/em> make projections based on expected climate change effects). Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a> [Apple News+ alt link<\/a>] looks at how properties in a Montana town that were removed from the flood zone in proposed FEMA maps were later inundated by floods (properties in flood zones require flood insurance, and face additional restrictions, so there are incentives to appeal that designation; on the other hand, if you win your appeal and your property floods anyway and<\/em> you don\u2019t have flood insurance, well).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two recent articles on the contentiousness that breaks out at the local level when FEMA updates its flood maps. Jordan Wolman\u2019s piece in the Commonwealth Beacon focuses on the disconnect between FEMA\u2019s maps and actual… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo","date":"2025-10-20T00:04:18+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3m3ljdm4sqo2p","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:hhxrnk4vub7jtlcl3ve26kjo\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3m3ljdm4sqo2p\",\"cid\":\"bafyreihhggrs3vam323mml7mjqbh7t5w3ichdbgdyh2wb2fyc4morgdeqy\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreib7gffshcspzsju7e3ttsadrkqzytp4sv3etfurgjk44u5ij43g6q\",\"rev\":\"3m3ljdm55ig2p\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[877,878,74,158],"class_list":["post-1845072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-weather-and-climate","tag-fema","tag-flood-maps","tag-flooding","tag-usa","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4692,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/08\/fema-flood-maps-dont-account-for-future-sea-level-rise\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845072,"position":0},"title":"FEMA Flood Maps Don’t Account for Future Sea Level Rise","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"28 August 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"NPR last month, reporting on a problem with FEMA's flood insurance maps: they're not keeping up with reality. \"FEMA's insurance maps are based on past patterns of flooding. Future sea level rise\u2014which is expected to create new, bigger flood zones\u2014is not factored in.\u00a0So some communities are doing the mapping themselves.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weather and Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Weather and Climate","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/weather-and-climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1837737,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2025\/03\/fema-risk-maps-purged\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845072,"position":1},"title":"FEMA Risk Maps Purged","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"11 March 2025","format":"link","excerpt":"The current U.S. administration\u2019s map vandalism isn\u2019t limited to a certain international body of water. Maps Mania reports that FEMA\u2019s online flood and risk maps have gone offline as part of the ongoing purge of everything related to climate change. One map, the Future Risk Index, has been salvaged by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Censorship"","block_context":{"text":"Censorship","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/censorship\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1787367,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/05\/quebec-flood-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845072,"position":2},"title":"Quebec Flood Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"21 May 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"In my neck of the woods we've been dealing with some pretty severe spring flooding. And as is often the case, existing flood maps are not up to handling the new normal imposed by climate change. Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, a community near Montreal, was hit hard by flooding this spring, but only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weather and Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Weather and Climate","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/weather-and-climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5588,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2013\/06\/alberta-flood-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845072,"position":3},"title":"Alberta Flood Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"21 June 2013","format":"link","excerpt":"This is a list of maps related to the flooding in southern Alberta (Calgary, Canmore, Bragg Creek, High River, Okotoks, etc.). This list will be added to as needed. Feel free to contribute additional links in the comments. Evacuation zone maps from the City of Calgary, in PDF format. For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disasters"","block_context":{"text":"Disasters","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/disasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1818804,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/09\/the-cbc-on-inaccessible-flood-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845072,"position":4},"title":"The CBC on Inaccessible Flood Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"27 September 2023","format":"link","excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2Nciej4VX7M As the CBC\u2019s evening news program The National reports, flood maps can be incredibly hard to find, with even municipal maps requiring an NDA to view in some cases. Now this story focuses on Halifax, Nova Scotia in the wake of flash flooding this summer; the situation elsewhere in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weather and Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Weather and Climate","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/weather-and-climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/2Nciej4VX7M\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1787554,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/08\/quebecs-updated-flood-maps-prove-controversial\/","url_meta":{"origin":1845072,"position":5},"title":"Quebec’s Updated Flood Maps Prove Controversial","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"1 August 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"In the wake of serious and devastating spring flooding in 2017 and 2019, the Quebec government issued proposed flood zone maps that marked areas where rebuilding and new construction would be put on hold. There was immediate pushback: as CBC News reported last month, the maps included substantial areas of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weather and Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Weather and Climate","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/weather-and-climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flood-maps-fort-coulonge-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flood-maps-fort-coulonge-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flood-maps-fort-coulonge-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/flood-maps-fort-coulonge-1024x576.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1845072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1845072"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1845072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1845075,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1845072\/revisions\/1845075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1845072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1845072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1845072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}