Climate Change Puts US Flood Insurance Program Deeper Into Debt

Flooding kills more people in the US each year than hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning. The federal program that helps property owners recover from it is more than $20 billion in debt and on Congress’s agenda to fix.

Millions of Americans — or roughly 93% of flood claims — rely on the National Flood Insurance Program to bail them out of more frequent and deadly flooding as global temperatures and sea levels rise. Melting snowpack caused the Mississippi River to flood several areas in the Midwest in late April. Over the winter, California struggled under the weight of water, with brutal ...