Over 75% of properties damaged by Hurricane Debby were outside areas requiring flood insurance.
FEMA's flood maps are outdated, with some over 50 years old, leaving many homes unprotected.
Resistance from developers and local governments has stalled updates to the National Flood Insurance Program.
Why this matters:
As climate change increases flood risks, millions of Americans are vulnerable to catastrophic losses without the necessary insurance, risking severe financial and societal impacts.
Congress has spent more than six years avoiding its responsibility to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, using a series of stopgap bills to extend the life of the program that has issued nearly 5 million policies.
A gap in flood insurance coverage leaves millions at risk as the frequency and severity of extreme weather events increase across the Northeast, the report notes.
Congress funds a flood insurance program that many home buyers in risky areas rely on. The money is about to run out, a real estate trade group warned.
