People are leaving some neighborhoods because of floods, a new study finds

An empty lot where a house once stood in Houston. The former residents moved because of flood damage. A new study suggests that people are moving away from the most flood-prone neighborhoods in cities that are otherwise growing in population. (Claire Harbage/NPR)

Hundreds of thousands of neighborhoods in the United States are seeing population decline as a result of flooding, new research suggests. Those neighborhoods are often located in areas that are growing in population overall, including parts of Florida, Texas and the region around Washington, D.C.

The results underscore how flood risk – which is growing due to climate change – is already affecting where Americans live.