美国.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) has released a final rule requiring projects that receive HUD funding to meet the standards of resilience required by the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). Under the rule, the climate-informed science 方法, which considers sea level rise and rainfall, will be used to determine flood elevation and flood hazard areas. W在这里 climate-informed science is not available, HUD will define a floodplain as an area with a .2% chance of flooding in any year or by adding 3-feet to the base flood elevation area, 取较大的.
以下是莎娜·乌德瓦迪的声明, senior climate resilience policy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“After many years in the making, this is the best possible standard that HUD could have issued.
“For decades, the federal government has been relying on a standard based on the past climate. This rule will change that business-as-usual practice, 浪费纳税人的钱, put people in harm’s way and allowed for the limited affordable public housing stock to be flooded, 在某些情况下一次又一次. This puts an end to that foolhardy cycle.
“As we bear witness to the increasing flood frequency from climate change-related rising tides and heavy rainfall events, this standard will help to ensure safe and resilient affordable housing. We hope this rule will be a model for federal agencies across the board.
“HUD’s standard will protect property owners, 买家, 开发人员, and renters by requiring that they are notified of the flood risk, flood insurance requirements and options, 以及过去的保险索赔, 还有其他重要的安全信息.
“I’m heartened that the rule will require HUD or other responsible entities to engage environmental justice communities during the decision-making processes and protect floodplains and wetlands that serve critical functions for communities and wildlife.”
See Udvardy’s public comments on HUD’s proposed rule 在这里.
For more information about how tidal flooding driven by climate-induced sea level rise is affecting homes, 参见UCS研究。”Underwater: Rising Seas, Chronic Floods, and the Implications for US Coastal Real Estate,，结果发现超过2个.4 million homes are at risk of chronic flooding by the end of the century.