Changing Climate May Lead to FEMA Buying More Flood-Prone Homes

As climate change fuels more flooding, more Americans will likely be forced from their homes. Many won’t be able to afford such a move, and the U.S. government isn’t prepared for a massive, subsidized migration away from flood-prone areas.

Americans have voluntarily sold more than 43,000 properties in high-risk areas to the government since 1989, according to new analysis of FEMA data. FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has bought properties located among one-third of all U.S. counties in 49 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. After properties are sold, the structures are demolished and the land remains open.

Some 49 million housing units are located within at-risk areas on the U.S. coast, and over $1 trillion worth of infrastructure lies within 700 feet of the coast, according to one analyst.

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