Environmental justice implications of flood risk in the contiguous United States – a spatiotemporal assessment of flood exposure change from 2001 to 2019

Abstract

ABSTRACT Flood hazard is one of America’s most frequent and expensive natural hazards and causes enormous economic losses in the United States every year. Flood hazards disproportionately affect marginalized and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. This disproportionate flood exposure constitutes a form of environmental injustice. Few studies have undertaken a large-scale assessment of the long-term change of flood exposure. To fill this gap, this study utilized land use and flood zone data from 2001 to 2019 at a 5-year interval to analyze spatiotemporal changes in flood exposure in the Contiguous United States (CONUS). Two indices, the Deviational Exposure Index and Socioeconomic Disparity Index, were introduced to measure flood exposure and the socioeconomic disparities associated with flood exposure. At the national level, the overall flood exposure in the CONUS decreased in the past two decades, indicating increasing awareness of flood risk in the country. But the local variations of flood exposure and its changing trends vary among communities. In general, coastal and riverine counties show a general avoidance of developing urban areas in flood zones, while inland counties show an opposite tendency of urban development in floodplains. The results of this study reveal socioeconomic and demographic disparities between communities in and out of flood zones and evaluate environmental injustice among disadvantaged populations. The knowledge learned from this study can not only help address environmental justice issues but also benefit the decision-making of the federal government and local authorities in urban development and smart growth when faced with flood risk.