The number of Americans currently vulnerable to flooding nationwide has been woefully underestimated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency — a finding that could impact homeowners’ insurance in low and moderate flood zones, according to a new assessment. Property at risk of flooding is more than double current FEMA estimates and nearly 41 million Americans — three times the current projections — could be exposed to a major flood, according to a study by researchers at the University of Bristol, the Nature Conservancy, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The findings, if accurate, could dramatically affect how FEMA calculates flood insurance premiums and may expose millions of otherwise uninsured homeowners to coverage requirements. The assessment comes just as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) inches toward expiration next week and as experts say sea-level rise will only make low-lying coastal markets more vulnerable. “This just serves to show that …
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