No question the current floods were unexpected, but the infrastructure and insurance policies that protect us need an update For areas of the Midwest hit by this year?s deluge of rain and melting snow, extreme weather has caused some of the worst flooding in living memory. Governors declared states of emergency in Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, and North Dakota. Thousands of homes and farms are facing water damage and the problem will get worse before it gets better.
As the record snowpack from the wettest winter on record melts over the next few weeks, it?ll add to already overflowing waterways. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts major flood risk along the Missouri, Mississippi, and Red River of the North, defined as ?extensive inundation of structures and roads, significant evacuations of people and/or transfer of property to higher elevations.? Federal officials warn that 200 million people in 25 states face a flood risk through May. ?This is shaping up to be a potentially unprecedented flood season,? Ed Clark, director of NOAA?s National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, told Wired.
The midwestern floods join the lengthening list of unprecedented and unexpected natural disasters accelerated and made worse by climate change. And, just like other climate events that have caused widespread damage, our planning, resiliency, and flood insurance programs are ill-equipped to cope.

#NebraskaFloods seen by #Sentinel2 pic.t...