On average, it takes five to seven years to develop and implement a new FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map. As a result, many maps across the U.S. are significantly out of date, often failing to reflect ...

As I write this, there’s a desperate search for dozens of girls, missing from a flood where the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes. More than 80 people drowned at the time I sent this column.