Floods Are a Receding Problem in the U.S.

The data are clear; floods have become much less of a threat in the U.S. Despite all the climate change alarmism, there's a good news story, not a problem. In the U.S. we can put increased flooding in the "imaginary problems" pile.
US Flood Trends
Guest Blogger
…according to the EPA, there is no evidence that climate change has made flooding worse in the USA. . . .

. . . . Not only is the conventional wisdom on flooding wrong, data show that flood impacts as measured by direct economic losses have actually decreased by about 90% since 1940 as a proportion of U.S. GDP. The United States is in fact more resilient to flooding than it has ever been. The reduction in flood impacts is an incredible story of success sitting out in plain sight that is completely ignored, in favor of stories that instead tell us that down is up.

The figure below shows U.S. annual flood damage as a proportion of GDP. In 1940 flood losses amounted to a 2023 equivalent of about $50 billion per year, and in 2022 they totalled about $5 billion, a reduction of over 90%.¹


Full post here. . . .

 

Maybe the reduction flood losses is due to people having learned their lessons. I don't think calculating the monetary losses is a useful measure of anything, except maybe for insurance companies

 

And yet flood losses are routinely cited by alarmists.

 

Are they...? I don't know, but where I live they are raising the seawalls because the streets are flooding from the ocean.

 

We can see the spin already;
Drought reduces floods.

 

So..... I agree. But, the most common method of improved flood control is being actively attacked by progressive folks, ie, the unmanning of rivers. Why? It does seem to indicate that folks living on or around those previously flood controlled waters are now far less able to be managed and far more likely now to flood. But these are the folks who would tell us that we won't have enough water.... or power that is renewable, in favor of inflicting more risk and death on the nation as they unbind these waterways.

 

Different issue.

 

Unless you have a think for floods, this is good news. The concern about climate change is the amount of damage it will not academic statistics. This data is good news.

 

Plus he is calculating it as a proportion of GDP which has grown more than a little over the years. Plus that is cherry picked to just the USA which has put in place large flood mitigation projects



https://public.wmo.int/en/media/pre...-over-past-50-years-causing-more-damage-fewer
This refutes
Pielke quite thoroughly

https://www.isipedia.org/report/is-...n-global-flood-damages-due-to-climate-change/

 

And you live near Miami right?
So when a hurricane comes you get storm surge which is a temporary rise in water levels.

 

https://climatecenter.fsu.edu/topic...s across Florida are,based on tide gauge data.

It is also raising the water table and that may make some buildings unstable

 

I have been hearing that Miami is going to be underwater any minute now since I was a boy.

When you live in a coastal region you will occasionally see events that bring storm surge. It doesn't mean the water level is rising.

But anyhow evidently we're all going to die from catastrophic climate change if we don't just give all the power to the government to micromanage our existence

 

Cue the 'there's no floods cuz MANBEARPIG is making drought!' hysterics.

 

Did you miss the bit where sea level has already risen?



sea level rise is not going to be at the same level everywhere

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level

 

Wtf!

 

Due to my interest in paleontology, and also by virtue of the fact that I was born and raised here.... I have done a bit of research on the history of Florida.

Throughout history there have been periods of time when Florida was twice as big as it currently is and then there were periods of time where it was twice as small.

And this was of course long before anyone can blame it on the actions of man. So you will have to forgive me if I don't Chicken Little over it

 

Its not about hurricanes, but regular tides which are flooding neighborhoods.

 

Same with Aus but all those sea level changes had a cause and Florida didn’t have 21 million people living on top of it - in high rises - which may or may not become unstable with a rising water table
https://www.vox.com/climate/23872640/coastal-climate-ocean-rising-miami-florida-building

 

That's why it's not a good idea to live directly on the beach. The beach is a very nice place to visit but you probably shouldn't build your house there.

 

Maybe they shouldn't build 5 inches above sea level?

 

The sea caught up, and now they are raising the seawalls in Miami and Ft Lauderdale

 

Maybe they should stop building that close to the Sea?

My house is somewhere north of 30 ft above sea level. That's not something I'll be worried about anytime soon

 

Agreed. Been there done that!

 

Sure, maybe they can just push the cities back couple of miles and forget about ports.

 

What's between your house and the waterline? How much lateral distance do you have?