Over the past month, record rainfall has triggered severe flash flooding across several US states, including Texas, New Jersey, New York, and Missouri.
Experts warn that climate change is intensifying these extreme weather events, which are expected to become more frequent.
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Infrastructure Under Strain
Alice Hill, a senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, highlighted the urgent need for infrastructure upgrades.
“We have basically built for a climate that no longer exists, and retrofitting our infrastructure is a slow and expensive process,” Hill said.
She noted that many cities rely on aging drainage systems that cannot handle such heavy rainfall.
“That system just can’t carry this kind of rainfall,” she added.
Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, explained that warmer oceans and air increase evaporation, adding more water vapor to the atmosphere.
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“Heavy precipitation events have become more common,” Francis said.
This extra vapor acts as a greenhouse gas and fuels storms, worsening flash floods.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hilly terrain and urban areas with limited water absorption are especially vulnerable to flash flooding.
Jim Blackburn, an environmental law professor at Rice University, pointed out that development in flood-prone areas like central Texas continues to pose risks.
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“So that flat land next to the [Guadalupe River] has always been, from a Texas viewpoint, prime for development,” Blackburn said.
