The people of Key West, Florida, are living with flood maps based on studies that are more than 30 years old. So, too, are some of the people in the rural counties of Latimer and Pushmataha, Oklahoma. East Carroll Parish, Louisiana. Chautauqua, New York.
In Buncombe, Yancey, Avery, and Burke counties in western North Carolina, where flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene devastated communities, the most recent maps date back to anywhere from 2007-2010.
Many of the maps that dictate the country’s flood zones — and decide who has to buy flood insurance — are significantly outdated. Efforts to change them, however, keep hitting a roadblock: the people who live there.