Buy Land, Do Not Build on It, and Save Billions – Scientists Say

A new study in the United States has shown that conserving flood-prone land – by buying it to avoid development – would help save billions of dollars a year in damaging costs.

Flooding is one of the most expensive natural disasters, and the United states has faced a record number of it this year in its communities and farms. But researchers have found that acquiring land to discourage development would save a lot more money than building homes prone to severe damage by floods.

“The largest gap in today’s approach to flood loss reduction is recognizing the value and benefits of … not developing in hazardous areas in the first place,” says Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

The study’s findings, published in the Nature Sustainability journal, should be relevant for the most of the rest of the world as well, according to co-author of the research Kris Johnson, calling the strategy of floodplain protection “hugely cost-effective”.