Floods Could Shut Down 25% Of All Critical Infrastructure Report Warns

A new report from the First Street Foundation warns that one-quarter of the critical infrastructure in the United States is at risk of being knocked out of commission due to flooding. The report also said that nearly two million miles of roads are at risk of becoming impassable due to flooding.

The report said that the biggest threat to critical infrastructure, which includes airports, fire stations, hospitals, police stations, ports, power stations, hazardous waste sites, water outfalls, and wastewater treatment facilities, is in Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Those four states account for 17 of the top 20 most at-risk counties in the country.

Matthew Eby, founder and executive director of the First Street Foundation, cited the recent destruction caused by Hurricane Ida as proof of the damage that severe flooding can cause.

"As we saw a few weeks ago following the devastation of Hurricane Ida, our nation's infrastructure is not built to a standard that protects against the level of flood risk we face today, let alone how those risks will grow over the next 30 years as the climate changes," Eby explained.

The non-profit group said that investments must be made to shore up critical infrastructure to protect it from natural disasters.

"It is essential that critical infrastructure systems are maintained to the highest standards and that disaster preparedness, response, and recovery are top priorities for risk managers and policymakers. A truly comprehensive understanding of flood risk from a changing climate must consider the resiliency of local communities to flood and determine the extent to which physical and soft infrastructure is at risk," the First Street Foundation wrote in its report.