Texas floods were a preview of what would come

This story is originally Appear Barrier It is part of Climate cooperation.

I watched the country in a state of horror while drowning in Cocia At least 135 people Until their death. Care Province alone lost 107, including more than twenty children at Camp Mestic.

From afar, it will be easy, even tempting, to believe that such floods can never happen to you. The disaster is far away.

it’s not.

Focusing on the details of the tragedy, the list of contributing factors has grown. Surprising heavy rains, driven by climate change. The lack of a comprehensive warning system to notify people that the Guadalpe River was rising quickly. Popular construction in the areas known for the floods, as well as incomplete information about places that may be in danger.

These are the same items that can lead to a type of disaster in Kiir Province in every state in the country. It is a fact that has already played several times in recent years, with floods in Vermontand Kentuckyand North Carolina state Elsewhere, he left sadness and billions of dollars in destruction in its wake.

“CARE province is an extreme example of what is happening everywhere,” said Robert Freudenberg, Vice President of Energy and Environment Programs at the Regional Plan Association. “People are at risk because of this, and there is more that we should do.”

The most obvious problem is that we continue to build in areas vulnerable to floods. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, produces easily available maps. However, according to the latest data from the non -profit climate research company First Street Foundation7.9 million homes and other structures in the FEMA flood risk area, which designates a 1 percent location or larger to be overwhelmed in any specific year.

Flag area in Fema Top 10

Source: First Street Foundation

In Louisiana, 23 percent of the property is located in the Fema flood. In Florida, about 17 percent. Arkansas, New Mexico and Nebraska may be members of less than 10 years, as it is New Jersey, which witnessed heavy rains The floods that killed two people earlier this month.

Texas ranks seventh in the country, with about 800,000 properties, or nearly 6.5 percent of the total state, sitting in the flood. Care County officials You have a limited salad To prevent people from building in these areas, but even when governments have the ability to prevent risky construction projects, they have not done historically. Although one study was found Some areas have recently started to reduce the development of flood plainsPeople continue to build in risky places.

“There is an innate draw for the water we have, but we need to know the location of the border,” Freudenberg said. “In really dangerous places, we need to work to get people out of harm.”

Care Province is located in an area known as Flash Flood, and At least four cabins In the Mystic camp, he sat in “Floodway” very dangerous. Many others stood in a 100 -year -old flood. When the Christian summer camp was subjected to girls to expand in 2019, Malcon built more cabins In the way of water.