A ‘worrying confluence’ of flood risk, social vulnerability and climate change denial

Darker areas in this map show where a confluence of flood risk and climate change skepticism is making communities particularly vulnerable to flooding. Image credit: Used under a CC BY 4.0 license from Gounaridis, D., Waweru, W. and Newell, J.P. Environ. Res. Lett. (2024) DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ad801a

In certain parts of the United States, especially Appalachia, New England and the Northwest, the ability of residents to prepare for and respond to flooding is being undercut on three different levels.

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The first factor in this exposure is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has underestimated the flooding risks in many counties across the country. Secondly, markers of social vulnerability, such as low income and mobility limitations, hamper the ability of individuals to take preventative measures, evacuate before floods and recover and rebuild after a flooding event.

Lastly, in certain communities, there’s a pervasive skepticism that climate change is happening at all.

“It’s not just the flooding, it’s not only that it’s affecting socially vulnerable populations, there is also an extra layer of vulnerability in that people are unprepared and unaware of the risk they are facing,” said Dimitrios Gounaridis, a U-M research specialist and co-author of the new report.

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