New FEMA flood maps prompt questions, concerns across Massachusetts— CRWA in the CommonWealth Beacon

In July, FEMA released updated flood maps across the Charles, Nashua, and Merrimack watersheds, and many residents are finding that their homes are now included in flood zones for the first time. Unfortunately, though these maps are used to inform government-backed mortgage lenders who require flood insurance for the property, they are not entirely accurate:

“We don’t use FEMA maps that much, and we encourage communities to also not use them for planning purposes,” said Julie Wood, climate resilience director at the Charles River Watershed Association. “I know there’s a regulatory structure around the National Flood Insurance Program that these maps are central to, and that’s, of course, critically important. But our focus is on climate resilience planning and planning for the future that we know is coming, and these FEMA maps are not a good tool for that.”