One in Three Communities Are Unaware of Flood Risk, Survey Shows—But Lack of Staffing, Resources Are Main Obstacles

Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters in the United States. Although people tend to think that flooding is something that coastal communities face, storms like Hurricane Helene have shown that catastrophic flooding can happen anywhere that it rains. Even so, a worrying number of communities still don’t know that they’re potentially at risk. 

A recent survey by Forerunner reveals that 30% of floodplain managers say their communities lack awareness of their flood risks, while a quarter (25%) feel their communities are not sufficiently prepared for a flooding event. As climate events and sea level rise intensify, managing flood risks and planning for potential flooding events have become increasingly crucial to community safety and increasingly challenging.

According to our survey, there are several main challenges that floodplain management teams are facing:

• 57% of survey respondents say that lack of funding and resources is the biggest obstacle to their work, and 57% reported that their budget had either stagnated or decreased over the past five years. 
• Lack of sufficient staffing is also a challenge. According to our survey, 81% of floodplain management departments consist of just 1 to 5 employees, and 72% said that the number of staff hadn’t increased in the past 5 years. Further, 45% of respondents said that staffing and training was one of their biggest day-to-day challenges.
• Additionally, although 74% of floodplain managers say that data plays a very important role in developing their floodplain management strategies, 73% say it's challenging to compile, analyze, and apply to their work.

Despite these challenges, floodplain managers remain focused on building more flood-resilient communities in the future. Our survey results indicate that over the next five years, floodplain managers have several top priorities:

• Improving Flood Risk Communication: Ensuring that residents understand their flood risks is essential for safety and readiness.
• Lowering Flood Insurance Costs: With insurance costs rising, professionals aim to make flood insurance more affordable.
• Modernizing Floodplain Operations: Updating infrastructure and management techniques can significantly enhance flood resilience.
• Increasing Insurance Uptake: Encouraging more residents to obtain flood insurance is critical for personal and community recovery efforts.

At Forerunner, we’re working alongside these communities to help them do more with less. Our public-facing flood websites enable more streamlined communication with residents and property owners, reduce the time needed to fulfill requests for documents like Elevation Certificates and provide a centralized location for important data. By modernizing processes and making it easier to find and leverage data, floodplain management teams will be able to better focus on the important work ahead. 

If you are interested in learning more about Forerunner, we'd love to connect! Request a demo or reach out to us at hello@withforerunner.com.