FEMA Flood Data Missing Or Inaccurate For 750,000 High-Risk Homes

Insurance agents working with the owners of more than 750,000 high-risk homes may have trouble finding accurately priced flood policies thanks to missing, outdated and inaccurate data from the National Flood Insurance Program. According to a recently released technical report from the National Research Council, FEMA has accurate elevation data on just 240,000 properties that enjoy subsidized insurance rates — just one-quarter of the homes under its purview. Even more worrying is the fact that the most at-risk homes — low-lying older buildings near high-frequency flood plains — are most often those whose information is missing.