Initially it seemed like the recent deadly floods in Texas were an unavoidable natural disaster, but further investigations have found that many factors conspired to make the tragedy so deadly.
While climate change intensified the rainfall, other avoidable issues were the lack of a proper warning system, incomplete information on areas at risk, and widespread building on land that was known to be flood-prone.
All these factors are commonly found across the US, and many states have already suffered similar catastrophic floods, with many more highly susceptible to future events.
Seven states have more than 10% of their properties built in federally designated flood zones, led by Louisiana (22.83%) and Florida (17.15%), while 14 states have no laws requiring buyers to be told if a property is at risk of flooding.
Experts claim that a lack of political will is preventing the implementation of stricter building laws and zoning enforcement to mitigate the risk from extreme weather events.
