Mount Vernon's 1.7-mile floodwall, built in 2019 to FEMA standards, successfully held back the Skagit River as it crested at 37.7 feet during record flooding, protecting the downtown and removing the area from FEMA's high-risk floodplain designation.

However, Skagit County's FEMA flood maps haven't been updated in 40 years—making it among only 11% of counties nationwide with maps that old—leaving residents elsewhere uncertain about their flood risk, with some communities experiencing damaging floods while others have resisted map updates due to concerns about higher insurance costs and development restrictions.

The maps are a tool to communicate more realistic flood risks to vulnerable groups, says Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science. You can plug your address into a FEMA webpage and it will tell you your property’s flood risk. “But,” Pralle says, “if you don’t know where the risky areas are, none of that works.”

The maps are designed to discourage development in areas prone to dangerous flooding, Pralle says.

Read more in the Seattle Times article, “Skagit County flood maps showing high-risk areas are 40 years old.”