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Okay, so we're diving into some crucial info about flood risk today.

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We've got this article from Yale Climate Connections.

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It's called 30 Great Tools to Determine Your Flood Risk in the U.S.

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A Whole Bunder Resources Packed in Here.

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Yeah.

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And it's interesting how much things have changed.

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Like it used to be all about those FEMA flood maps.

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Right.

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Everyone knows those.

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But this article, it kind of makes you wonder if those maps are actually that reliable.

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Yeah.

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You know, they can be really outdated and they don't really take into account how climate

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changes impacting everything.

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Like heavier rainfall and things like that.

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Exactly.

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Like all that leads to way more flooding and more often too.

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Right.

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And they actually had a pretty crazy example on the article.

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They were talking about Houston, Harris County specifically.

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FEMA says it's a one in 100 year flood risk.

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Oh, wow.

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But get this new analysis shows it's more like every 13 years.

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Every 13 years.

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So that's what like 13 times more often.

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Yeah.

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That's a huge, ancient difference.

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So those FEMA maps, maybe not the best thing to rely on.

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Definitely not.

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But the good news is there are some new tools out there.

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Okay.

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So what can people use instead?

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So there's a few platforms like risk factor, climate check, even free home or risk.com.

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Those are just a few.

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They're using way more current data.

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So they factor in climate change and all of that.

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Exactly.

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It's a much more complete picture.

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You know, makes sense.

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Although I did see something in the article about some negative reviews, like some

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homeowner saying these tools weren't accurate.

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Right. Right.

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Some people found that what the tool told them didn't really line up with what they

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were seeing.

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So what causes that kind of discrepancy?

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Could be a bunch of things.

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Yeah.

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You know, sometimes it's super localized stuff, like their specific spot is different.

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Or maybe there are some data issues.

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It's hard to say for sure.

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So you got to take it all with a grain of salt.

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It's not just plug and play.

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Yeah.

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It's more about using a bunch of different things together to get the best picture.

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And, you know, on top of those initial assessments, there's actually ways to really

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dig into the history of a property.

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Almost like being a detective.

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Oh, detective.

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Tell me more.

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Yeah.

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So you can actually research past floods, see if there have been any insurance

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claims on the property.

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Is that even possible?

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Yeah.

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And even check out these things called repetitive loss property.

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Repetitive loss.

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What's that?

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So basically those are properties where there have been multiple flood insurance claims.

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Like way more than the property is even worse.

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So they just keep flooding.

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Over and over.

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Yeah.

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Which is really important to know if you're thinking about buying.

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Especially near the coast.

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Definitely.

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Could save you a lot of headaches later on.

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Right.

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Finding out your dream home is actually, you know, a nightmare.

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Makes you wonder, like, what about other risks?

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Like rivers, levees, dams, stuff like that?

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Yeah.

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Those are all huge factors too.

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And the article gets into that as well.

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See, now I always thought dams were supposed to prevent floods, not cause them.

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Well, in theory, yeah.

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But, you know, anything built by humans can fail.

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True.

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That's a good point.

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This geomorphologist, they quoted in the article, he said something like,

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there are two kinds of levees.

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Those that have failed and those that will fail.

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Oh, wow.

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That's actually kind of scary.

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So how do you even know if a dam or a levee is, you know, going to be a problem?

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Well, these tools can't predict exactly when something might happen.

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Right.

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Of course not.

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But they can tell you things like the hazard rating, like how bad it would be if it did fail.

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Things like that.

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That makes sense.

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So at least people downstream can prepare.

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Exactly.

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It's all about being prepared.

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And speaking of powerful forces of nature, have we talked about sea level rise yet?

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I mean, isn't that more of a beachfront property problem?

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That's what most people think, but it's way more complicated than that.

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Really?

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In what way?

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So one of the biggest things is people think, oh, it's only coastal properties that have to worry.

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But it actually goes way further inland.

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Oh, really?

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How so?

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Well, for one thing, you've got erosion.

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Like as the sea level rises, it eats away at the coast even more.

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And that can mess with infrastructure, property values, even if you're not right on the beach.

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Right.

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You always hear about those places losing their beaches.

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Exactly.

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And it's not just about losing a place to tan, you know, it can undermine roads, buildings,

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even like sewage systems.

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Wow, that's intense.

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Yeah.

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And it can really hurt communities, like financially and socially.

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So it's like a domino effect, even if the water isn't literally at your door.

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Exactly.

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Exactly.

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And then on top of all that, there's this thing the article calls community isolation.

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Community isolation.

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What does that even mean?

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Okay, so imagine the sea level rises, let's say two feet.

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Some place is going to be underwater, right?

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Right.

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But what about the people just a little further inland?

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Maybe their house is okay, but the roads are flooded.

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The power is out.

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So they're stranded.

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Exactly.

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They're cut off from everything, no resources, no support.

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And the article actually had this crazy example, Lancaster County in Virginia,

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they're saying a two foot rise would directly flood maybe 2.4% of the population,

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but over double that, like 5.5% would be isolated because of damage to roads and stuff.

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Why?

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Those numbers are wild.

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It's like, it's not even about if your house floods, it's about if you can even get to it.

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Totally.

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And speaking of things that might make you rethink being near the water,

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the article goes on to this whole other thing about tides.

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Apparently the moon doesn't just affect werewolves.

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It's got a big impact on flooding too.

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Okay.

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Now that's something I never really thought about the moon.

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Huh?

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Yeah, most people don't.

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It's all about the moon's gravity, right?

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That's what drives the tides.

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Makes sense.

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But the moon's orbit, it's not always the same.

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It goes through this cycle, about 18.6 years.

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So it's like this cosmic dance and we're just along for the ride.

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Basically.

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And for the past like couple of decades, it's been in this phase of the moon.

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And then this phase where high tides have been lower.

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Oh, so we've had it easy, kind of.

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In a way, yeah.

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Yeah.

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But that also means that we haven't really seen how much sea level rise is actually happening.

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Because the tides have been masking it.

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Exactly.

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But here's the thing, we're moving into a new phase now where the moon's going to be

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pulling those tides even higher on top of the sea level rise.

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Oh no.

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So what's that going to look like?

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So they're predicting that by the 2030s, a lot of areas, especially the Gulf, southeast, west coast,

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could see three or four times as many minor high tide flood days.

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Three or four times.

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What does that even mean?

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Minor high tide flood.

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Basically, think like the streets flooding when the tide's high, businesses having to close.

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Yeah, even sewer systems backing up might not sound like much.

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But when it's happening all the time, every month.

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Yeah, it adds up.

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And the thing is, it doesn't take much more water for those minor floods to become a huge problem.

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Like a little more rain and suddenly it's a disaster.

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Right.

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NOA says the difference between a minor flood and something way worse can be just a foot or two of water.

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Man, this is a lot.

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So much to think about.

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Like how do you even prepare for all of this?

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Well, that's where flood insurance comes in.

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Got to think about how to protect yourself.

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Oh yeah, flood insurance.

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The article mentions something called risk rating 2.0.

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What's the deal with that?

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So basically it's a total revamp of how they do flood insurance.

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Like how the national flood insurance program, the NIP.

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Right, the NIP.

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Yeah, how they figure out the risk and the rates.

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Then this new system started in 2022, so it's still pretty new.

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Okay, so what was wrong with the old way?

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Honestly, it was losing money like crazy, billions of dollars in debt.

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Oh wow.

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The old way of calculating risk just wasn't cutting it, especially with climate change making things worse.

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So they needed to get with the times.

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Yeah, exactly.

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Be more accurate so they could actually pay out when they needed to.

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But for a lot of homeowners, it means higher premiums.

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Higher? How much higher are we talking?

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Well, it really depends.

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The new system looks at every property individually.

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Like how high is it? How far from water?

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Even how much it would cost to rebuild.

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Oh wow, that's pretty thorough.

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Yeah, but like the article said, Louisiana could see premiums go up 122%.

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122%.

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That's insane.

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Yeah, and the Florida Keys, those rates could triple,

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but those are like the worst case scenarios.

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It's capped each year, so you won't see a jump like that all at once.

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Okay, well that's something.

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So how do you even figure out what your rate's going to be with this new system?

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It's actually not as bad as you might think.

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FEMA put out this whole spreadsheet.

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It breaks down all the changes from risk rating 2.0, by state, by ZIP code, even by county.

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Oh, so you can see how it affects you specifically.

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Exactly, which is good because knowledge is power, right?

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Especially with all this stuff changing all the time.

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Definitely.

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It makes you wonder, like who's going to want to live near the water anymore with all this going on?

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It's a good question.

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And it kind of leads to this bigger conversation, you know?

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Like how do we develop responsibly?

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How do we adapt to climate change?

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What's the future of living near water?

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It's a lot to unpack.

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Yeah, it really makes you stop and think.

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It's kind of like, are we even supposed to live near water anymore?

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It's a big question, for sure.

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And these conversations about it, they're happening everywhere, you know?

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All up and down the coast, people are trying to figure it out.

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So where do we go from here?

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We've talked about a lot, probably enough to make anyone's head spin.

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What are the big takeaways?

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What do we do with all this?

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Well, I think the first thing is just being aware, you know?

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Understanding what causes these problems, what tools are out there, what the risks actually are.

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That's a huge first step.

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Totally.

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Like they say, four warned is four armed, right?

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We can't make smart choices if we don't even know what we're dealing with.

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Exactly.

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And it's not even just about if you live right on the water.

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This stuff affects everyone, you know?

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Property values, insurance, the whole community.

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It's like it all flows together.

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One big system.

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Exactly.

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So awareness is huge.

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And then from there, it's about taking action.

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So like what kind of action?

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Well, this deep dive, it's giving you a really good starting point.

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Take those tools we talked about, you know?

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Climate check, risk factor, even that FEMA spreadsheet for the insurance changes.

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Right.

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Play around with those, see what they tell you about your area.

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Be your own flood detective.

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Check out your property, your neighborhood, and maybe even get involved locally, you know?

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Like with community groups, planning boards, that kind of thing.

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Exactly.

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Because it's not just about what each of us does.

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It's about what we do together as a community.

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Absolutely.

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Well, we covered a lot of ground today.

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We talked about FEMA maps, those new risk assessment tools,

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ways to find out about properties, flood history, sea level rise, even the moon.

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And of course, flood insurance.

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Can't forget about that.

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It's a lot to think about.

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But hopefully everyone listening feels a little more prepared, you know?

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Like they can actually do something about all this.

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Absolutely.

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And remember, it's one thing to know about these things, but we have to actually act on them.

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Take this information, do your own research, and most importantly, talk to people.

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Talk to your neighbors.

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Talk to your local officials.

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The more we all understand, the better off we'll be, you know?

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Kind of set it better myself.

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And on that note, we'll leave you with this what if, instead of trying to fight against water,

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we learned to live with it.

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What if we saw ourselves as part of that system, not separate from it?

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Just something to think about as we move forward into this uncertain future.