At a Glance

From building and infrastructure standards to the federal flood insurance program, the Trump administration is working to eliminate or slash programs vital to the safety of Americans living in flood-prone areas.

Millions of Americans are facing an ever growing risk of flooding in the years to come as sea levels rise and storms become more frequent andintense, yet the Trump administration and other state and federal governmental entities continueto undermine and even dismantle programs aimed at reducing the impacts of flooding.

There are many moving parts in the nation's disaster preparedness and relief network. When one local, state or federal program is undermined or eliminated, the whole system can beaffected.

Roughly 85 percent of deaths from natural disasters are flood-related, yet Florida recently relaxed building codes to spur development. The Trump administration, along with others in the upper echelons of the government, are following suit.

From building and infrastructure standards and codes to the federal flood insurance program, the Trump administration is working to eliminate or slash programs vital to the safety and well-being of millions of Americans living in flood-prone areas.

Infrastructure Standards

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump revoked an Obama-era executive order establishing the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) designed to reduce the risk and cost of future flood disasters. The executive order ensured that new developmentin and affecting floodplains would beconstructed to better withstand the impacts of flooding, .

Trump justified the decision, saying "America needs increased infrastructure investment to strengthen our economy, enhance our competitiveness in world trade, create jobs and increase wages for our workers, and reduce the costs of goods and services for our families."

"Inefficiencies in current infrastructures project decisions, including management of environmental reviews and permit decisions or authorizations, have delayed infrastructure investments," the .

Some developers welcomed the news. Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders,commended Trump for rescinding the FFRMS, calling it "an overreaching environmental rule that needlessly hurts housing affordability."

"The FFRMS posed unanswered regulatory questions that would force developers to halt projects and raise the cost of housing," he . "This action by President Trump will provide much-needed regulatory relief for the housing community and help American home buyers."

President Obama's revoked executive order supported communities working to strengthen their local floodplain management codes and standards.

Nautica Jackson, left, and Aniya Ruffin walk through floodwaters with their dog as water threatened to enter their home in Raleigh, N.C. Tuesday, April 25, 2017.

(Travis Long/The News and Observer via AP)

Rachel Cleetus, lead economist and climate policy manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists, told weather.com that Trump's decision to revoke the order "absolutely flies in the face of common sense."

Cleetus noted that the standard was helping to ensure that critical infrastructurethat peopledepend upon were protected from flooding. It also ensures that tax dollars are being spent wisely.

"Instead, taxpayer dollars will likely be wasted through investments in projects that could be washed away in the next storm. It was a mistake and it was done in such an offhanded way," she said. “With sea level rise and heavy rainfall contributing to growing flood risks in countless areas across the nation, it makes no sense to turn back progress on greater flood protections."

While the revoked standards only apply only to federal projects, Cleetus pointed out that in places like Miami, developers are encouraged to build waterfront properties, a move that defiescommon sense with rising seas already threatening existing property.

"It is clear what is happening there," she said. "The sad reality is we're digging ourselves into a deeper hole because we are encouraging development and growing populations in places that are flood prone."

Cleetus lamented that "from the highest levels of our government, we have people who are denying climate change, denying the signs, denying the reality, and frankly just delaying the necessary conversation we need to have."

National Flood Insurance Program

Obama's revoked executive order also helped serve as a model for communities trying to become eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The NFIP, up for congressional reauthorization on Sept. 30 ironically at the height of the hurricane season, provides roughly and is vital for homeowners in flood-prone areas and future flood-prone areas, whether along coastlines threatened by sea level rise and storms or inland because of heavier projected rainfall.

The federal government stepped in to provide widespread flood insurance in the 1970s after some homeowners became uninsurable in the private sector. Many people living in flood-prone areas were dropped by their insurance companies after repeated flood claims. Today, these same private insurance companies are carrying the insurance, but the policies are underwritten by the federal government under the NFIP. Homeowners covered under the NFIP cannot be dropped even after repeated flooding.

"The private insurance companies aren'ttaking on any of the risks, but they are skimming off a commission for every policy they write," Cleetus said.

In order for residents to become eligible for flood insurance through the NFIP, their community must abide by federal standards and are required to issue permits for all development in Special Flood Hazard Areas, determined by FEMA, state and local officials. These communities must also "ensure that construction materials and methods used will minimize future flood damage," .

Communities can bring downinsurance premiums for their residents by going above and beyond the basic FEMA standards under the.

In June, the House Financial Services Committee passed a package of seven bills to reauthorize the expiring NFIP. After 26 House Republicans said they could not support the package in its current form, it was sent back for revision, according to Cleetus. Their complaint: the cost to the taxpayer.If the Sept. 30 deadline comes and goes without reauthorization, the 5 million existing policies wouldremain in effect, but new ones could not be issued.

"It would really have a ripple effect on the real estate market because it would meanyou can't sell or buy a home in one of these areas without insurance," Cleetus said.

The insurance programis nearly $25 billion in debt, partially a result of the devastating damages incurred during ,and several other devastating flood events in recent years.

"A big chunk of the damages during Katrina and Sandy came from people who were living outside those areas at highest risk, who did not have insurance," Cleetus said, adding that it points to another avenueof reform for Congress to consider. "Only people in the highest risk areas are required to carry flood insurance and that means a lot of people who should be carrying coverage are not."

For those not covered by NFIP, disaster aid is the only means of relief after a disaster, Cleetus said, which is much more costly.

"Congress knows we desperately need this program ... but this Congress has not moved quickly on much of anything lately, so there's a real concern that they won't grapple with the reforms that are needed," Cleetus said. "If they do something hastily, however, that could be even worse."

Hazard Flood Mapping Program

A program under the NFIP, the Hazard Flood Mapping program, was slated to be slashed in Trump's proposed 2018 budget. That move would have saved the government $190 million a yearbut could havecost people living in flood-risk areas thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, in the long run.

Cleetus noted that Congress pushed back on that line particular line item, as well as other initiatives in peril like pre-disaster mitigation programs.

"These battles are ongoing," Cleetus said, noting that it's not just about keeping the status quobut expanding these programs to address future flood risks as sea levels rise and increased rainfall places other areas in the country at risk.

"Trump won't get the last word on this, but even Congress needs to be pushed to do more," Cleetus said.

The mapping program to identify flood hazard areasis essential because it tells homeowners and developers the flooding risk for a particular area. It also helps homeowners, businesses and other property owners make decisions on flood insurance, which is mandatory in the highest risk areas.

Standard from an external flooding, so the NFIP is indispensable for homeowners currently at risk. It's also a consideration for the 1.9 million homes worth a combined $882 million projected to be underwater by the end of the century, according to an based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Flood risk maps are outdated, inadequate and nonexistent in some area, Cleetus said, and the majority of the maps don't include sea level rise projections.

"The maps just take into account current conditions without addressing sea level rise," she said. "One of the key recommendations of the technical mapping advisory council is that they take into account future conditions, including sea level rise projections, but also the impacts of things like erosion and how it changes topography, making some places more flood-prone."

Cleetus said UCS and other organizationslike it will continue to "stay vigilante because this administration will continue to try to undercut these budget lines, and it will be up to Congress to keep resisting."

"Ultimately, this is about science and not political ideology," she said. "We can't just put blinders on. With some lead time, we can help make this transition happen in a way that I think creates opportunities."