Jackson, Mississippi Flooding Highlights FEMA Flood Map Deficiencies

Flood maps used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are out of date and understate the risks to homes and businesses from flooding and extreme rain triggered by climate change, FEMA Director Deanne Criswell said.

Those risks are in focus after flooding in Jackson, Mississippi, overwhelmed the city’s main water treatment plant a week ago, leaving more than 150,000 state-capital region residents without safe water. Criswell said there’s no timeline for restoring service.

‘I think the part that’s really difficult right now is the fact that our flood maps don’t take into account excessive rain that comes in,’ Criswell said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ on Sunday. ‘And we are seeing these record rainfalls that are happening.’

Complicating the matter is that climate-fueled extreme weather can be hard to predict, as well as whether a city or town’s infrastructure can hold up, she said.

‘We have to start thinking about what the threats are going to be in the future as a result of climate change,’ Criswell said.