![]() But nationwide, roughly 25% of NFIP flood-damage claims occur outside of 100-year zones. Many floodplain residents and political leaders falsely believe that flooding cannot occur beyond the mapped 100-year line. One-third of the flooding we mapped was outside of FEMA’s designated 100-year flood zone, which is the “line in the sand” for floodplain management in the US. We analyzed the distribution of flood inundation around Baton Rouge in order to assess how well NFIP and FEMA maps provided guidance to avoid damages during the extreme and, arguably, unusual precipitation and flooding this past week. NFIP maps (“FIRMs”) are used to inform residents of potentially flood-prone land, guide development and construction ordinances, and to set insurance rates and requirements. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was established in 1968 to curtail flood damages through nationwide mapping of flood hazard to guide sound floodplain management. As of November 30, 2015, these two parishes were still in the top 25 severe repetitive loss properties (22nd and 5th respectively for payments received) NFIP claims total $117,131,310. In 1998, there were 1,107 repetitive loss properties in these two parishes, resulting in claims to the NFIP totaling $47,534,736. Tammany Parish, 7th and 22nd among communities nationwide with the highest damages for repetitive-loss properties. In 1998, the National Wildlife Federation report Higher Ground ranked two of the parishes hard-hit by this week’s flooding, East Baton Rouge and St. ![]() Our team of researchers in the Natural Hazards Research and Mitigation Group at the University of California, Davis undertook a preliminary analysis to determine extent of flood inundation during this recent event and its relationship with Louisiana’s history of major floods and development behind levees. The American Red Cross has called this the worst US disaster since Hurricane Sandy. The National Weather Service reported that rainfall in Louisiana this past week reached up to a 1000-year event (0.1% chance of occurring each year). The flooding in Baton Rouge and surrounding areas of Louisiana is a major disaster, claiming an estimated 13 lives and displacing more than 100,000 people from their homes. (Patrick Dennis/The Advocate via AP)īy Nicholas Pinter, Nicholas Santos, Rui Hui, Kathleen Schaefer This aerial image shows flooded areas of North Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Aug. ![]()
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