1 in 10 tri-state properties at high risk of flooding: New York Fed

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that nearly one million homes and multifamily buildings in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – one in 10 properties in the tri-state area – are at high risk of flooding.

These properties are among the top 25% riskiest properties nationally, the same flood risk category as some homes on the coasts of Florida, Texas and Louisiana, according to the “Flood Risk and the Tristate Housing Market” report.

The report also says that nearly 40% of Tri-State properties at risk of flooding, or more than 400,000 properties, are in low- to moderate-income census tracts. These properties, which include single-family homes and multi-family buildings such as rental apartments, condominiums and co-ops, are home to more than 1.5 million people.

The report notes that low- and middle-income households are often the least prepared to bear the costs that follow a flood. These include direct costs, such as property damage, and indirect costs, including declining property values ​​and rising insurance premiums.

The report also notes:

• More than four million people live in the one million properties in the tri-state area that are at high risk of flooding. This includes more than 2.5 million people in New York State, nearly 1.2 million people in New Jersey and nearly 350,000 people in Connecticut.
• In some communities across the tri-state, almost every property is at high risk of flooding. For example, 90% or more of properties in Long Beach, NY and Keansburg, NJ are at risk.

“The threat of flooding in the tri-state area is not limited to the coasts,” said Jake Scott, community development analyst at the New York Fed and author of the report. “Extreme rainfall, flash floods and overflowing rivers threaten homes and businesses in inland cities including Buffalo, Syracuse and Newark.”

The report includes case studies examining community planning and action in the face of flood risk for four communities: Keansburg and Hoboken in New Jersey and Syracuse and Brooklyn in New York.

The report builds on previous New York Fed research on flood risk, including articles on the impact of flooding on New Yorkers’ household finances and on the flood risk to New York City’s basement apartments.

Source: New York Federal Reserve

Topics
Flooding of New York