1 in 10 Tri-State Properties at High Flood Risk: New York Fed

Research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that nearly one million homes and multifamily buildings in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — one in 10 properties in the tri-state area — are at high risk of flooding.

Those properties rank among the top 25 percent of riskiest properties nationally, the same flood risk category as some homes in coastal Florida, Texas and Louisiana, according to the report, “Flood Risk and the Tristate Housing Market.”

The report also says nearly 40 percent of Tri-State properties at risk of flooding, or more than 400,000 properties, are in low- to moderate-income census tracts. These properties, including single-family homes and multi-family buildings such as rental apartments, condominiums and co-ops, are home to more than 1.5 million people.

The report notes that low- and moderate-income households are often the least prepared to bear the expenses that follow floods. These include direct costs, such as property damage, and indirect costs, including decreased property values ​​and increased insurance premiums.

The report also states:

• The one million properties in the tri-state area that are at high risk of flooding are home to more than 4 million people. This includes more than 2.5 million people in New York State, nearly 1.2 million people in New Jersey and nearly 350,000 people in Connecticut.
• In some tri-state communities, nearly every property is at high risk of flooding. For example, 90% or more of properties in Long Beach, NY and Keansburg, NJ are at risk.

“The threat of flooding in the tristate area is not limited to the coasts,” said Jake Scott, community development analyst at the New York Fed and author of the report. “Extreme rainfall, flash flooding and overflowing rivers threaten homes and businesses in inland cities including Buffalo, Syracuse and Newark.”

The report presents case studies examining community planning and action in the face of flood risk for four communities: Keansburg and Hoboken in New Jersey and Syracuse and Brooklyn in New York.

The report builds on previous New York Fed research on flood risk, including work on the impact of flooding on New Yorkers’ household finances and flood risk in basement apartments in New York.

Source: New York Federal Reserve

TOPICS
The flood in New York