Lack of Flood Maps at Many U.S. Military Bases Creates Risks

May 22, 2020 | Marc Kodack
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In the 2020 NDAA, Congress further required that DoD include in its’ installation master plans a discussion of risks and threats that included those from extreme weather and flooding. It also said that master plans should deliberately consider how assets and infrastructure associated with critical missions are vulnerable to these risks and threats (Section 2801). However, for installation master planners to accurately determine the boundaries of existing floodplains and how these floodplains may change under climate change, they must be able to access accurate flood hazard maps, such as those in FEMA’s national flood map program.

The Association of Floodplain Managers (2020) recently reviewed the National Flood Insurance Program and the National Flood Mapping Program. They concluded that the flood mapping program requires significant additional funding to bring many flood hazard maps throughout the U.S. up-to-date. In addition, annual maintenance funding is also currently inadequate. If installation master planners use out-of-date flood maps, they cannot accurately determine installation resilience as-a-whole or for individual assets and infrastructure used in critical missions that will be affected by extreme weather, flooding, and climate change. They will fail to reduce climate risk.