This blog post summarizes and interprets a new national analysis by the First Street Foundation showing that one in four U.S. homes faces severe risk from extreme weather — including flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, and heat waves.
Drawing on three decades of experience in climate science and risk assessment, I explain the study’s methods, where threats are growing, and practical steps homeowners and policymakers should take to adapt and strengthen resilience.
What the national analysis reveals
The First Street Foundation evaluated over 140 million properties, combining climate modeling with property and insurance data to produce neighborhood-level risk estimates.
The headline finding — that roughly 25% of U.S. homes now face severe climate-related hazards — signals a major shift in the landscape of risk.
Beyond the startling aggregate number, the report highlights an important trend: these hazards are expanding beyond traditional high-risk zones.
Places once considered safe now face rising flood, heat, and fire exposure, driven by changing precipitation patterns, hotter summers, and longer wildfire seasons.
Where hazards are growing and why it matters
Flood risk is no longer limited to coasts and riverbanks.
Increasingly intense rainfall events are pushing flood hazards into inland and northern communities.
Heavier convective storms produce flash floods that local infrastructure was not designed to handle.
Wildfire danger is spreading across the West as drought and warmer temperatures lengthen fire seasons and dry fuels.
Coastal states remain highly exposed to hurricanes and storm surge, while the Midwest and Northeast are seeing more frequent extreme events of various kinds.
Implications for homeowners, insurers, and local governments
One of the most consequential findings is the mismatch between perceived and actual risk.
Many local governments and property owners underestimate exposure, which leaves infrastructure, property values, and public safety vulnerable.
For homeowners, that can mean unexpected costs, insurance challenges, and difficult decisions about retrofits or relocation.
Insurers and lenders must also adjust: risk models that rely on historical patterns are increasingly insufficient.
Integrating forward-looking climate data into zoning, building codes, and insurance underwriting is essential for aligning financial incentives with long-term resilience.
Practical adaptation steps
From three decades working at the intersection of climate science and public policy, I recommend a pragmatic set of actions to reduce harm and build community resilience.
These are scalable from individual homeowners to municipal planning departments.
Moving forward with urgency and clarity
The First Street Foundation’s analysis is a clear call to action: climate change is reshaping the geography of risk across the U.S. Waiting will only increase costs and human suffering.
Policymakers must integrate climate-risk data into planning and regulation. Homeowners should proactively assess and mitigate their exposures.
Adaptation and resilience are not optional; they are necessary investments in the safety and economic stability of communities.
Here is the source article for this story: Your home has a 1 in 4 chance of being at severe risk from extreme weather