New maps reveal post-flood migration patterns across the US

Summary

By James R. Elliott and Debolina Banerjee Elliott is a professor of sociology at Rice University. Banerjee is a research analyst at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. Dangerous flooding isn’t just a Houston or even a Texas thing. It has damaged neighborhoods in almost every state in 2025, leaving homes a muddy mess. In several hard-hit areas, it wasn’t the first time homeowners found themselves tearing out wet wallboard and piling waterlogged carpet by the curb. Wanting to rebuild after flooding is a common response. But for some people, the best way to stay in their community, adapt to the changing climate and recover from disasters is to do what humans have done for millennia: move. Researchers expect millions of Americans to relocate from properties facing increasing risks of flood, fire and other kinds of disasters in the years ahead. What people do with those high-risk properties can make their community more resilient or leave it vulnerable to more damage in future storms. We study flood resilience and have been mapping the results of government buyout programs across the U.S. that purchase damaged homes after disasters to turn them into open space. Our new national maps of who relocates and where they go after a flood show that most Americans who move from buyout areas stay local. However, we also found that the majority of them — including thousands across Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend and Galveston counties — give up their home to someone else, either selling it or leaving a rental home, rather than taking a government buyout offer. That transfers the risk to a new resident, leaving the community still facing future costly risks. FEMA’s buyout program at risk Government buyout programs can help communities recover after disasters by purchasing high-risk homes and demolishing them. The parcel is then converted to a natural flood plain, park or site for new infrastructure to mitigate future flood damage for nearby areas. The Federal Eme...