Study: Federal Flood Estimates for Los Angeles Significantly Underestimate Actual Impact

Smart Water Magazine has written an article covering a recent study by researchers from the University of California, Irvine titled Large and Inequitable Flood Risks in Los Angeles, California. Utilizing a more accurate and granular flood model, the paper finds current flood impact assessments for the metropolitan area are inaccurate to the point of the number of people at risk being 30 times greater than what federal plans account for. Overall, a statistical 100-year flood would impact “as many as 874,000 people and over $100 billion of property” with at least foot high depths.

The significance of this study is two-fold. First, in conjunction with the news that California is experiencing a record level snowpack, the state is at a higher risk for floods similar to a 100-year event during a time where its flood infrastructure is lacking. Second, the model used in the study exposes current gaps in federal flood estimations for urban areas, which means other major cities are at risk of a similar underestimation as Los Angeles. Read more at Smart Water Magazine.