Flood risks are increasing in Houston, Nashville and other cities across the South as climate change brings more extreme rainfall.
Padgett: “Citizens are obviously very aware of what's going on because they are directly affected. When flooding occurs, people's homes and property are damaged.
David Padgett of Tennessee State University works with the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice to help communities in the region cope with flooding.
He said government agencies often struggle to keep up with changing realities on the ground when mapping flood-prone areas.
Flood maps are often based on data from the past, when heavy rains were less common. And they are not updated frequently enough to reflect the impact of new construction and parking lots on water flows and pools.
Padgett: “Every time we build something, we change the level of risk.”
So Padgett helps train community members to document the flooding they see.
Padgett: “You can actually look at it on a map and anyone can easily mark where flooding is occurring…that's real-time flood assessment.”
Residents can provide this data to city officials and policymakers to provide evidence of what's happening and advocate for solutions, he said.
Report source: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media
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