A powerful rainstorm moving down the California coast could dump more than an inch of rain over multiple burn scar areas in Los Angeles County today, including those of the Eaton and Palisades fires. County officials have issued evacuation warnings and orders for these areas due to the risk of flash flooding, mudslides, and debris […]
Leaky Ice Dam Prompts Evacuations in Alaska as Record Floods Loom
A water basin in Alaska is overflowing its ice dam, the Mendenhall Glacier, and flooding the state capital, Juneau. Experts expect the likely record-breaking event to peak today, and officials have asked residents in parts of the city and borough to evacuate. The flood doesn’t come as a surprise. Years ago, a small glacier on […]
FEMA’s Flood Maps Are Basically Lies
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps, often referred to simply as flood maps, outline flood risk. The maps are critical to determining the need for flood insurance, construction restrictions, floodplain management, and hazard mitigation. There’s just one problem—75% of FEMA’s maps are out of date. Writing for The Conversation, Jeremy Porter, […]