Big Take Podcast

America’s Flood Mitigation Math Problem

On today’s Big Take podcast: how climate change is making floods deadlier and costlier — and the difficult economic choices facing communities at risk.

A destroyed SUV draped in a Texas State flag sits next to the road after flash flooding swept through in Hunt, Texas, on July 6.Photographer: Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

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By Sarah Holder, David Fox, Rachael Lewis-Krisky, and Nicole Beemsterboer

July 11, 2025 at 6:48 PM UTC

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On today’s Big Take podcast, we examine what the disaster in Kerr County, Texas reveals about the growing risk of flooding across the country as the climate changes — and the difficult economic choices facing communities grappling with these new risks.