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Housing and Climate Resource Library

Flood Resources

This page is about the risk of floods to communities and homes and how climate change affects flooding risk. Flooding can damage and destroy homes, and conducting safe cleanup after flood events is important to address mold and other damage.

Relevant variables for this topic include projected flood risk, temperature, time horizon, water level, warming choices, elevation data, ice sheets, and affordable housing.

Datasets/Data Explorers

The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network 
The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network combines environmental and health data from local, state, and federal sources. Data and information about environments and risks, health consequences, and population health are available through the Tracking Network. Data can be investigated in a variety of ways. Data comparison between two datasets is possible using the Data Explorer tool, which contains all subject categories and indicators. The program has collaborated with other projects to build topic-specific dashboards, including the Heat and Health Tracker and the Environmental Justice Dashboard. These dashboards are interactive tools that present county level data related to heat, health, and environmental exposures. Note: In case this version is unavailable, a copy can be found at the Harvard Dataverse, where 32 files and datasets are archived to view and download.

  • Dataset owner: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • Dataset update frequency/maintenance: Data recency and updates depend on the specific indicator.
  • Dataset jurisdictions included: The dataset covers the whole United States at the county or ZIP code level.
  • Specific climate and housing variables:
    • Name of variable: Emergency department (ED) visits.
      • What the variable measures: Rate of ED visits for heat related illness (daily and weekly).
      • Variable source: 
    • Name of variable: PM2.5.
      • What the variable measures: Annual average of PM2.5 in micrograms per cubic meter.
      • Variable source(s): EPA Air Quality System Monitoring Data, State Air Monitoring, EPA Downscaler modeled data (2019).
    • Name of variable: Ozone.
      • What the variable measures: Number of days with an eight-hour average (maximum) ozone concentration the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).
      • Variable source(s): EPA Air Quality System Monitoring Data, State Air Monitoring, EPA Downscaler modeled data (2019).
    • Name of variable: Historical drought.
      • What the variable measures: Measures a county’s total numbers of weeks in drought by year.
      • Variable source(s): United States Drought Monitor (2021).
    • Name of variable: Historical temperature and heat index
    • Name of variable: Precipitation and flooding vulnerability.
      • What the variable measures: Number of people within FEMA-designated special flood hazard area.
      • Variable source(s): Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Hazard Layer, 2011.
    • Name of variable: Historical precipitation.
    • Name of variable: Projected precipitation indicator.
      • What the variable measures: Measures the projected difference in extreme precipitation days and in extreme event max precipitation.
      • Variable source(s): The Localized Constructed Analogs (LOCA) dataset.
    • Name of variable: Flood vulnerability.
      • What the variable measures: This variable measures the number of square miles and percent area within FEMA Designated Flood Hazard Area, the number of square miles and percent area within EPA Designated Flood Hazard Area, and number of people and housing units within FEMA Designated Flood Hazard Area.
      • Variable source(s): FEMA and EPA.

Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool 
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) received direct orders from President Biden in January 2021 to develop the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool. The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool is an interactive geospatial mapping tool that uses census tracts to identify disadvantaged communities with climate, environmental, and other burdens. [url; CEQ, 2022]

 

Latest page update: April 22, 2024.