INVESTIGATING THE INTERSECTION OF RACE, INCOME, AND FLOOD RISK IN AUSTIN, TX

The City of Austin lies within “Flash Flood Alley”, the most flood prone region in the US. Flood events in this area cause more deaths annually than any other region in America according to the National Weather Service. Our research aims to determine if low-to-moderate income families and/or families of color in Austin are more susceptible than other demographics during flood events. Using Austin’s Housing and Planning Dashboard and the Environmental Protection Agency’s EJScreen mapping tool, we gathered demographic data for families making less than $75k/year and non-white residents within a half-mile radius of Austin’s 32 most flood-prone roads. According to our data, 75% of the 32 sites can be characterized as low-to-moderate income households. This suggests that these families are impacted at a drastically higher rate compared to households with incomes of $75k or more. Additionally, 47% of the 32 sites predominantly identify as people of color. While this data disproves a part of our hypothesis, 50% of the low-to-moderate income families burdened with high-risk areas are also people of color. This finding influenced us to consider further research on how intersecting socioeconomic factors could hinder individuals regarding recovery after a flood event. Overall, our research aims to bring light to the correlating relationships between a community’s demographics and its flood event vulnerability, and even further, influence our local government to implement much-needed flood management strategies and general community awareness within underserved communities.