Researchers aim to resolve inequity in Miami’s flood preparation | Al Jazeera America

Keren Bolter, former High Noon in Lake Worth guest and TED talk presenter is mentioned in this article. Click title for link. It describes the process underway now to combine FEMA flood maps with other property and demographic information. During our show, we talked about the social impact of sea-level-rise and possible migrations caused by it. From the article:

Mention Hurricane Katrina and no one needs to hear more to remember the poorest residents of New Orleans who were immobilized and left in squalor following the hurricane and subsequent flooding. Although the city has rebuilt significantly since the storm struck in August 2005, the disproportionate impact on low-income, mostly black communities was a lesson that officials in Florida took to heart.
“When you look at some of these low-income communities in South Florida, you imagine what $3 million could do to retrofit their homes or neighborhoods,” said Keren Bolter, a researcher from FCES who is creating sea-level vulnerability maps of Broward and Miami Dade counties. “But it’s tough. How much do you want to invest into a home that is such low value? But at the same time, the people who live there, they need to be safe.”
FEMA awards flood mitigation grants to property owners who have filed a previous flood insurance claim on a benefit-cost basis. FEMA essentially calculates the financial award as an investment that must be offset by the amount of a future loss in the case when an owner files a new claim.