Extreme weather, flooding influencing where millions in US decide to live, research shows
As people choose different areas to move to and try to get away from flooding hazards, storms with relentless precipitation are continuing to impact several U.S. regions, and it’s taking its toll on infrastructure.
Weather is driving millions to move, research finds
Research from First Street Foundation has found that millions of people are moving to new locations to avoid weather-related threats in their area, especially flooding. Dr. Jeremy Porter, Head of Climate Implications at First Street Foundation, joins FOX Weather to discuss these new climate migration patterns that are emerging across the U.S.
Research from First Street Foundation shows that millions of people in the U.S. are considering extreme weather events and disasters when trying to decide on a place to live as new climate migration patterns emerge.
And as another atmospheric river storm is getting set to slam California and the West, FOX Weather spoke with the head of Climate Implications at First Street Foundation about their research that shows how things like flooding are influencing people’s decisions on where to move and live.
WATCH: WATER FLOWS OVER HISTORIC DAM AT SANTA BARBARA BOTANIC GARDEN
The Los Angeles River swells with rushing water near Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California, on Aug. 20, 2023. Heavy rain lashed California as Tropical Storm Hilary raced in from Mexico, bringing warnings of potentially life-threatening flooding in the typically arid southwestern U.S.
(ROBYN BECK/AFP / Getty Images)
"This new research shows that when people are made aware of flood risk in their area, they’re actually taking that into consideration when they’re thinking about moving," Dr. Jeremy Porter said. "So, people have this local knowledge. They know what areas flood when there’s a heavy downpour."
Because of that, he said, people are telling themselves that they don’t want to experience that, so they aren’t moving there.
"We’re really seeing it across the country, and we’re really seeing it within city movies," Porter continued.
Infrastructure being overwhelmed by rushing water
Watch: Dramatic video shows man's rescue from raging Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles Fire Department shared dramatic video of a man being rescued from a raging Los Angeles River after he jumped in to save his dog.
As people choose different areas to move to and try to get away from flooding hazards, storms with relentless precipitation are continuing to impact several U.S. regions, and it’s taking its toll on infrastructure.
"The weather events that you’re covering, in particular the atmospheric rivers, the extreme precipitation events in Florida, in the Northeast and in the Midwest, that’s really where we’re seeing the biggest impacts," Porter said.
He said that infrastructure itself is built to handle a certain amount of precipitation when it occurs.
DRONE VIDEO SHOWS MASSIVE CHUNKS OF SOUTH FLORIDA BACKYARDS SWEPT INTO OCEAN
Watch: Dangerous rescue from atmospheric river flood in California
A firefighter shared this video with FOX Weather. Three people in a car towing a trailer tried to cross a flooded road in Cajon, California. But, rushing waters took the vehicle. The trio escaped the water-filled car and climbed a tree to wait for help
"The changes in the environment recently, the way it's really manifesting itself, is that we’re seeing these extreme precipitation events happening more often," he continued. "And when they happen more often, they’re dropping more water so that the stormwater management systems, in particular, just aren’t designed to carry the capacity of water that we’re seeing."
For example, Porter said that the atmospheric river storms that have been slamming the West Coast, the catastrophic flooding events that occurred in Vermont and the Northeast last summer, and copious amounts of rain in Florida have shown that there needs to be a new investment in the country’s stormwater management systems to be able to withstand some of the extreme weather events.
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How can the US mitigate the flooding risks?
Watch: Dramatic video shows raging floodwaters spilling over Vermont dam
Vermont State Police are warning people to stay off the roads and stay safe at the state faces potentially catastrophic flash flooding on Monday. Video from VSP shows raging water flowing over a dam on the Ottauguechee River near Simon Pearce in Quechee.
As storms grow stronger and hold more moisture and precipitation than average, flooding events are becoming more and more extreme.
So, what can be done as individuals or communities to help alleviate some of the risks? A lot of it has to do with having the right data and understanding of these events, Porter said.
Downscaled global climate models can be a huge help, he said.
"They tell us where precipitation is likely to increase, where we’re likely to see more drought conditions," Porter said. "We can take all of that kind of information and couple it with things like sea-level rise expectations, and we can use that to more efficiently allocate resources at the community level for things like pumps, seawalls, for bigger detention basins and stormwater management systems."
Planning is key, he said.
"Planning for really what we’re expecting to see into the future and maybe add a little contingency on that, understanding that there’s a lot of uncertainty around those expectations and planning for kind of worst-case scenario is probably the best way to go," Porter said.
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What could the next 10, 15 or 20 years look like?
Miami is already seeing the impacts of sea level rise
As climate change causes sea levels to rise some of those beaches that we love to frequent during spring break could look very different by 2100. (Video from March 2022)
So, will people be flocking to new areas of the country over the next few decades? Porter says as of now, they aren’t seeing that in the research.
"We’re really not seeing large macroscale migration patterns," he said. "We’re not seeing people, you know, flock out of the South and move to the Great Lakes region simply because of the economic opportunities that exist in the South."
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Instead, people are just moving to higher ground.
"What we’re really seeing is that within cities like Houston, in Miami, in (Los Angeles), people are moving to places that are on higher ground," he said. "People are starting to take that into account in the real-estate market when people are looking to move, and I think we’ll see that continue into the future."