More and More Residents Relocating to Flood Zones, Fire-Prone Areas

Flood-prone parts of the US are drowning in inhabitants.

“How’s the weather/?” seems hardly a concern for the nearly 400,000 more people who moved into than out of the most flood-prone counties in 2021 and 2022, according to a new report from Redfin.

That figure represents a 103% increase from the prior two years.

“The consequences of climate change haven’t fully sunk in for many Americans because oftentimes, homeowners and renters don’t foot the whole bill when disaster strikes,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said.

The same trend took hold in the places most vulnerable to wildfires and heat as the pandemic homebuying boom and a housing affordability crisis pushed 446,000 more Americans into disaster-prone areas than those who left them, Redfin added.

And the counties with the highest heat risk saw 629,000 more people move in than out, a 17% uptick.

Furthermore, counties with the highest heat risk saw 629,000 more people move in than out, a 17% uptick.

Living in the now is a primary reason for these decisions, Fairweather said.

“It’s human nature to focus on current benefits, like waterfront views or a low cost of living, over costs that could rack up in the long run, like property damage or a decrease in property value,” according to Fairweather. “It’s also human nature to discount risks that are tough to measure, like climate change.”

Redfin’s report contends that many disaster-prone areas are relatively affordable because homebuyers and renters have a larger pool of homes to choose from.

That’s because more homes are being built in those potential danger spots. More than half (55%) of homes built this decade face fire risk, while 45% face drought risk, a separate Redfin analysis found.

“But with natural disasters intensifying and insurers pulling out of disaster-prone areas including Florida and California, Americans may start feeling a greater sense of urgency to mitigate climate dangers—especially if their home’s value is at risk of declining,” said Fairweather.

Coastal Florida has been a top migration destination despite that area’s flood risk. Lee County (home to Fort Myers and Cape Coral) saw nearly 60,000 more people move in than out in the past two years despite about half of the homes in Lee County facing high flood risk.

“Builders in Cape Coral have not stopped—they’re just building like nothing happened,” said local Redfin Premier real estate agent Isabel Arias-Squires in a prepared statement.

Likewise for Phoenix. It has recognized it has a water crisis – and has even taken action to combat it – yet it, along with water-deficient Las Vegas, is a prized relocation destination, according to a Redfin survey taken last month.

Flood-prone Louisiana apparently is not nearly as attractive as Florida. Nearly every home in Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish—the areas including and surrounding New Orleans—faces high flood risk, Redfin reported.

Both saw roughly 15,000 more people move out than in over the past two years. Rising insurance costs are much to blame.

Many are seeing past the potential flames in Inland California, Utah, and Arizona, which saw their populations boom as fire risk grows.