New maps reveal post-flood migration patterns across the United States

Serious floods have damaged neighborhoods in Almost every country In the year 2025, leaving the homes a muddy mess. In many severely affected areas It wasn’t the first time Homeowners found themselves tearing up wet wall panels and piling up water-soaked carpet at the curb.

The desire to rebuild after floods is a common response. But for some people, the best way to survive in their community, adapt to a changing climate and recover from disasters is to do what humans do It did for thousands of years: moves.

Researchers expect Millions of Americans To move from properties facing increased risks of floods, fires and other types of disasters in the coming years.

What people do with these high-risk properties could make their community more resilient or leave it vulnerable to more damage in future storms.

We are studying flood Resilience The results of government acquisition programs across the United States that purchase damaged homes after disasters to convert them into open space have been mapped.

Our news National maps of who’s moving where “They Go After the Flood” shows that most Americans who move from takeover areas stay local. However, we also found that the majority of them are giving away their home to someone else, either selling it or leaving a rental home, rather than accepting a government purchase offer. This transfers the risk to a new resident, leaving the community still facing costly future risks.

FEMA’s acquisition program is in jeopardy

Government acquisition programs can help communities recover after disasters by purchasing high-risk homes and demolishing them. The plot of land is then converted into a natural floodplain, park, or site for new infrastructure to mitigate future flood damage in surrounding areas.

FEMA has funded such efforts for decades through its agency Real estate purchase program. It has invested nearly US$4 billion to purchase and demolish nearly 45,000 flood-prone homes across the country, most of them since 2001.

These investments are paying off: Research shows that the program avoids overpayments $4 to $6 in future disaster recovery spending for every $1 invested. In return, homeowners receive the pre-disaster price of their home, minus any money they may receive from related flood insurance payments on the property.

But that aid is now in jeopardy as the Trump administration cuts FEMA’s staff and funding, which the president is talking about Dismantling the agency. From March to September, governors submitted 42 applications for funding from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which includes acquisitions &All were rejected or left hanging As of mid-September.

Our recommendation after studying this program is to reform it, not terminate it. If done right, acquisitions can help maintain local connections and help communities build a more sustainable future together.

Acquisitions versus sales of homes in affected areas

Our team at Rice University Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience Developed Interactive mapping tool To show where takeover participants and neighbors living within a half-mile of them moved after FEMA began the takeover program in their area.

The maps were created using individual data, down to the address level, from 2007 to 2017, across more than 550 counties where FEMA’s acquisition program operates nationally.

In miniature, it shows the number of places the program has helped across the United States, from coastal cities to inland towns. When zoomed in, it reveals the takeover locations and destinations for more than 70,000 residents who moved after FEMA-funded takeovers in their area.

The maps also show people who were moved by accepting federal takeover and people who were moved on their own. Nationally, we see that the vast majority of carriers, about 14 in 15, are not participating in the federal takeover program. They are neighbors who moved in through traditional real estate transactions.

This distinction is important because it implies that most Americans are withdrawing from climate-stressed areas by transferring the risks to their homes to someone else, not by accepting acquisitions that would take the property out of circulation.

Selling may be beneficial for homeowners who can find buyers, but it does not make the community more resilient.

Lessons for future acquisition programs

Our interactive map provides some good news and insights into future acquisition programs.

Regardless of how they happen, relocations average only 5 to 10 miles from the old home to the new home. This means that most people maintain local connections, even as they move to adapt to increasing climate risks.

Almost all moves also end up in safer homes with minimal risk of future flooding. We checked using the address level Flood factors From the First Street Foundation, a non-profit source of flood risk ratings that has now been consolidated On some online real estate sites.

But many homes in risky areas are still being resold or rented to new residents, leaving communities facing a game of climate roulette.

How long this can last will vary by neighborhood. Rising insurance costs, more severe storms, and greater awareness of flood risks have already begun Discourage home sales In some societies – and thus opportunities to hand over one’s risks to someone else and move on.

The United States can create safer communities by expanding federal, state, and local voluntary buyout programs. These programs allow communities to reduce future flood damage and collectively plan safer uses for the vacated lands that emerge.

Giving residents longer periods of time to participate after damage can also help make programs more attractive. This would provide property owners with greater flexibility in deciding when to sell and demolish their properties, while still taking risky properties off the market rather than handing over the risk to new residents.

This article was republished from Conversation Under Creative Commons license. Read Original article.