Flood iQ Launches Alabama & Mississippi
Residents of AL and MS can now search for their property’s and city’s flood risks and enjoy all Flood iQ features
We are excited to announce that Alabama and Mississippi have been added to FloodiQ.com! Users in both states can now search for their property’s or city’s flood risk and see home value loss information. These states are added in a wave after the most recent, which included data for Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Other states available for search on Flood iQ include Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
This state expansion for Flood iQ is timely, as the threat of sea level rise and flooding in both Alabama and Mississippi is a growing concern.
Flooding Concerns in Alabama
In Alabama, tidal flooding has increased by over 200% since 2000. There are already over 7,000 properties at risk from frequent tidal flooding in the state, a number that will only grow. The state is experiencing a higher rate of sea level rise than many, due to sinking land, which contributes to an increase in flooding.
The shorelines of the Alabama’s barrier islands are receding by as much as 12 feet per year, which leaves communities closer to the ocean and at risk for higher tidal flooding. More than 50 years of land erosion has already caused Dauphin Island’s mass to decrease by 16%, with a total of 350 feet of the beach destroyed to date. As the sea level rises, it makes existing coastal flooding in Alabama much worse, putting homes and property at risk.
In Gulf Shores there are 431 residential properties already at risk from repeated tidal flooding; by 2033 that number will increase to 681 as sea levels rise. Similarly, In Orange Beach, 308 properties at risk will turn into 638 within 15 years, and Mobile’s 338 properties currently at risk will grow to 478. To explore other coastal areas in Alabama that are at risk at FloodiQ.com, click here.
Impacts of Flooding in Mississippi
Due to sea level rise, ocean water is overflowing more often into the streets during high tides and storms, which puts Mississippi’s coastal communities at great risk from flooding. This can put not only important city infrastructure at risk, but homes and cars as well. There are already over 14,000 properties at risk from frequent tidal flooding in Mississippi, with many communities experiencing the devastating effects of sea level rise and worsening storm surge.
Even though the sea level around Mississippi’s coast has risen only 6 inches since 2000, tidal flooding has increased by 180%. It’s more important than ever for homeowners to know what their flood risk is, so they can take the necessary efforts to mitigate effects.
In Bay St. Louis, there are 1,140 residential properties already at risk from repeated tidal flooding, and that number will increase to 1,237 by 2033 because of sea levels rise. Biloxi currently has 568 properties at risk, which will become 806 within 15 years, and in Gautier, there are 714 properties at risk, which will increase to 862 by 2033. To explore other coastal areas in Mississippi that are at risk at FloodiQ.com, click here.
Flood iQ Can Help
With the 2018 hurricane season fully underway, homeowners across Alabama and Mississippi have growing concern about how much at risk from flooding their homes may be, especially with the added water brought on by powerful storm surge. We are excited to offer this much needed tool and hope that it will give residents in AL and MS not only the ability find their flood risk, but become better informed and equipped to take proactive steps to combat flooding and sea level rise in their city or state.
The new states added to Flood iQ will benefit from the following exciting updates: a revamped Flood iQ newsletter, which makes it easy for users to join and stay updated on Flood iQ news and announcements, a new Hurricane page that breaks down hurricane flood risks and how they’re projected to change in the future, simplified PDF reports, and new functionality for sharing Flood iQ on social media.
Residents of Alabama and Mississippi can explore all of the new features offered on the site by clicking here to search their address or city.
We will keep adding more states to Flood iQ and hope to one day offer flood risk data to all coastal communities that are at risk for flooding. Stay tuned for the launch of Louisiana, which will be the next state to be available on FloodiQ.com!
As always, we love feedback and are always trying to improve. Comment below or email us at info@floodiq.com.
