Climate Risk Reports

Buyers Aware is the result of a partnership between researchers and faculty members at Texas A&M University, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) and FEMA to make flood and wildfire risk information more widely available. They created a one-stop shop analytical tool to assess the flood and wildfire risk to individual residential properties.

Buyers Aware is funded by the Texas Division of Emergency Management through funds allocated by FEMA to fund flood mitigation planning and communication. This generous support enables us to provide Buyers Aware as a free tool, available widely to the public, grounded in advanced research.

Buyers Aware is a state-of-the-art, locally developed tool. Homes.com, Realtor.com, Redfin and Zillow use national databases for their climate risk tools, so having a Texas-only focus allows for much more accurate and timely information. You may also provide clarification to the climate risk data for a property by submitting an Elevation Certificate—a unique feature that is not available with comparable tools currently on the market.

You cannot remove the climate risk information from your listing, but you are able to update it if it is incorrect. Specifically, if you have an issue with a property’s Flood Risk Rating, you may click on the ‘Report an Issue’ link and follow the steps to submit a copy of the Elevation Certificate to Buyers Aware. It may take a few days to process these documents.

No. The flood risk is an indication that there is a risk of flooding, but it does not mean the property has flooded in the past.

Various factors contribute to the flood risk rating (you may read about the methodology HERE). Typically, flood risk ratings differ for properties on the same street because of an elevation difference. For example, in the neighborhood map below, there is a 2-3′ difference in height above the nearest drainage in the orange area relative to the green areas. If you go to a street view map of the area, you will be able to see the difference in elevation from the road.

If you reviewed all of the factors that contribute to the flood risk rating and still have an issue with it, please email your concern to climaterisk@har.com.

If you have an issue with a property’s Flood Risk Rating, you may click on the ‘Report an Issue’ link and follow the steps to send a copy of the Elevation Certificate to Buyers Aware. It may take a few days to process these documents.

You may find information about how to obtain an Elevation Certificate HERE.

No, the Flood Risk Rating Score will not change after you submit an Elevation Certificate. The elevation information will be displayed together with the current Flood Risk Rating Score to indicate a reduced flood risk/elevated structure. The only time the Flood Risk Rating Score will change is when FEMA updates its flood maps, which is typically every five years.

You may select the ‘Report an Issue’ option. It will prompt you to upload the Elevation Certificate and send it to Buyers Aware so that it will be reflected on the website. This will allow Buyers Aware to display the most accurate information about the property.

Buyers Aware uses a combination of open-source data coupled with site-specific, peer-reviewed analytics.

Flood risk is determined through a statistical analysis of traditional factors that influence flood risk combined with the locations of historic flood damage. The result of this analysis is a robust measure of flood risk that reflects existing flood risk products but also detects areas of risk that are frequently underestimated. In addition, we provide an estimate of flood risk – whether a property is in or out of a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) – as determined by FEMA regulatory maps (i.e., floodplains).

Homebuyers are becoming increasingly concerned about natural disaster risks. In fact, our 20 recent focus groups revealed a strong demand for climate-related information for properties on HAR.com.

By including the information on HAR.com listings, it eliminates the need for consumers to visit multiple websites to gather crucial details. This simplifies the home search process and empowers them to make informed decisions all in one place.

Search the address of the property HERE and then select ‘Download Report.’ Agents will need to use their HAR login credentials to sign in and download the report. Agents will be able to share and download a detailed risk report with their branding on it.

Consumers will need to sign in with their HAR.com account (or create an HAR.com account if they don’t have one), then they will be able to download the detailed report.

For flood risk, Buyers Aware’s risk rankings represent a property’s annual likelihood of flooding 1 inch or greater. The ranking levels can be interpreted as:

• • Low Risk—Analysis of the property’s flood risk variables indicates it has a less-than-0.1% annual chance of flooding.
  • Moderate-Low Risk—Analysis of the property’s flood risk variables indicates it has between a 0.1-0.2% annual chance of flooding.
  • Moderate Risk—Analysis of the property’s flood risk variables indicates it has a between-0.2%-and-0.4% annual.
  • Moderate-High Risk—Analysis of the property’s flood risk variables indicates it has a between-0.4 and 1% annual chance of flooding.
  • High Risk—Analysis of the property’s flood risk variables indicates it has a 1%-or-greater annual chance of flooding.

For wildfire risk, Buyers Aware’s risk rankings represent a property’s annual likelihood of experiencing a wildfire.

Since the 1990s, more than 50% of flood loss in Texas has occurred in areas outside of SFHAs. That reality meant thousands of residents who suffered flood damage were not aware they were at risk of flood damage and did not have flood insurance – and it continued to happen after multiple disasters. This is the driving force behind the Buyers Aware team of researchers developing this platform to build upon the latest research and why federal and state partners are funding it.

Based on the Buyers Aware model, some properties are considered high or moderate risk on Buyers Aware but do not fall within a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, meaning the property is not within the so called 100-year floodplain and owners are not required to purchase flood insurance for this property.

Flood zones are geographic areas that the FEMA has defined according to varying levels of flood risk; as such, different flood zones reflect differing severity and types of flooding. These flood zones are used by FEMA to develop Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) that serve important regulatory functions, such as determining in which areas property owners are mandated to purchase flood insurance. For more information about FEMA Flood Zones, you may visit www.fema.gov/glossary/flood-zones.

Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) are areas designated by FEMA as having special flood, mudflow or flood-related erosion hazards. Specifically, FEMA defines SFHAs as areas “that will be inundated by the flood event having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year” – this is often referred to as the “100-year floodplain.” Importantly for residents, SFHAs are areas where the mandatory purchase of flood insurance applies, and certain building regulations are enforced.

The flood zones considered SFHAs are labeled as Zones A, Zone AO, Zone AH, Zones A1-A30, Zone AE, Zone A99, Zone AR, Zone AR/AE, Zone AR/AO, Zone AR/A1-A30, Zone AR/A, Zone V, Zone VE, and Zones V1-V30. For more information about SFHAs, see www.fema.gov/glossary/flood-zones.

Floods and wildfires are costly events for residents. However, there are several steps that can be taken to reduce the risk. Flood mitigation strategies include improving drainage, installing flood barriers, adding flood vents and elevating the property. For more information on flood mitigation options, customized to your home type, please visit www.reducefloodrisk.org.

Wildfire mitigation strategies include regularly maintaining the property by clearing gutters, removing dead vegetation, creating a buffer zone around the home by clearing brush, installing fire suppression systems and retrofitting the home with fire-resistant materials. For more information on mitigating wildfire risk, see nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Preparing-homes-for-wildfire.

You can send an email to climaterisk@har.com for assistance in sending an Elevation Certificate or any other technical issue with the site.