Flooding Hits American Towns Far From Oceans and Big Rivers

(cross posting from "other articles" https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016354856 )

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The unprecedented storms in the mountains of eastern Kentucky last summer illustrated a growing and often overlooked threat that scientists say is exacerbated by climate change: severe flooding across swaths of the inland U.S. By one measure, Letcher County, Ky., where the Wrights live, has the largest hidden flood risk in the U.S.

The storms last summer dumped as much as 16 inches of rain over a five-day period, according to the National Weather Service, causing flooding that resulted in at least 44 deaths and swept away homes, bridges and other infrastructure. Scientists said it was a 1,000-year storm, or one with a 0.1% chance of occurring in a given year.

Just as stronger hurricanes are changing the economic and demographic profile of some coastal communities, the mounting risks of extreme weather in parts of the country’s interior are poised to reshape regions like Letcher County. They are confronting residents with an existential question: Can they afford to stay and protect themselves against the threat, or do they need to relocate to safer ground?

Because of the way FEMA analyzes flood hazards, the agency underestimates risks in some areas, especially in central Appalachia, said Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications research at First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research group known for quantifying climate risks, including flooding. In determining so-called special flood-hazard areas, FEMA focuses on variables such as coastal storm surge and large rivers, not accounting for factors including precipitation and small streams. Yet those factors—which First Street includes in its model—are the main causes of flooding in Appalachia, where the mountainous topography sends rainfall streaming down hillsides and into networks of small waterways, Porter said.

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