--- title: Climate Change Flooding Resilience: Where To Avoid Climate Change description: Looking to keep the worst impacts of climate change from unfolding in your backyard? Try moving to the Northern Great Plains. canonical: https://time.com/3964807/climate-change-resilience/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-21T14:47:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:23.963Z article:section: Science og:title: Here's The Most Climate-Change Resilient Place In the U.S. og:description: Looking to keep the worst impacts of climate change from unfolding in your backyard? Try moving to the Northern Great Plains. og:url: https://time.com/3964807/climate-change-resilience/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt876b20ec91b24013/69885baba988ca36d46b3890/flooding-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5760 og:image:height: 3240 og:image:alt: flooding climate change og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's The Most Climate-Change Resilient Place In the U.S. twitter:description: Looking to keep the worst impacts of climate change from unfolding in your backyard? Try moving to the Northern Great Plains. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt876b20ec91b24013/69885baba988ca36d46b3890/flooding-climate-change.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Where to Buy a House In the U.S. That Will Be Resilient to Climate Change > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=b2b23c95-a603-4faa-853e-b91635b3c534&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=b2b23c95-a603-4faa-853e-b91635b3c534&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=b2b23c95-a603-4faa-853e-b91635b3c534&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather? [Watch (HLS stream): Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LQufbOt9.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2013-11-11. Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Climate scientist Bill Patzert explains._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 21, 2015 2:47 PM UTC  Flooded Car on an Urban Street Flooded Car on an Urban Street Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 21, 2015 2:47 PM UTC Want to keep the worst impacts of climate change from unfolding in your backyard? You’ll have to be strategic about where you live—which is why we asked climate change experts to name the most geographically resilient places in the country. Try moving to the Northern Great Plains, they suggested. The Northernmost states of North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming are the most naturally resilient in the country thanks to cool temperatures and infrastructure, said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) official Tim Owen. Though flooding is expected to occur across the U.S., the region faces few other potentially devastating challenges. While temperature spikes may shorten the winter season, the fluctuations are unlikely to be dramatic enough to do real damage to infrastructure (though they could disrupt local ecosystems). In fact, the agricultural sector could actually benefit from longer harvesting seasons. “The changes are in a direction that doesn’t expose them to the limits of their infrastructure in terms of temperatures,” said NOAA official Ken Kunkel. To settle on the Northern Tier as the safest place to live, the climate researchers TIME talked to worked through a process of elimination. Some regions, like the Southwest, already endure sweltering heat that’s only expected to worsen in coming decades. Making these high temperatures even harder to bear, experts expect an increase in electricity outages due to growing demand. In places like California and Washington, drought promises to deplete what remains of the states’ fast-disappearing water sources. “The risk of sustained drought is a risk everywhere in the United States,” said Owen. “But it’s more of a concern in the Southwest than anywhere else.” Still, the climate experts cite heavily populated coastal regions as the top regions of concern. Across the country, sea levels are expected to rise by several feet, and parts of many low-lying cities like Miami and New Orleans could easily be submerged underwater by a strong storm. Climate changes threaten not only to destroy beachfront properties but also to damage infrastructure that would affect those who live miles inland. Infrastructure along coastlines affects drainage from sewer systems and the cost of power and other utilities. “Those are the hidden consequences of climate change that a lot of people haven’t begun to reconcile yet,” said Owen. **Read More**: [Here’s Where People Are Most Concerned About Climate Change](http://time.com/3957316/climate-change-countries/) But there’s another way to think about resilience, climate change experts say. Instead of focusing on a community’s vulnerability to climate change, or lack thereof, you could consider how well a given location can respond to a climate disaster. Using this metric, coastal urban regions tend to fare well because they have more money. “At the end of the day, the strength of an economy—the income level of a region—dramatically affects the ability of a region to bounce back,” said Stephen A. Hammer, a climate policy expert at the World Bank. Hammer pointed to the response efforts in the New York City region after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 as evidence of the way wealthy cities can recover quickly. While some affected areas along the Eastern Seaboard still haven’t rebuilt entirely, the resource-rich Financial District went back to normal faster. Places like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago rank among the top-five cities around the world most adaptive to climate change, in part due to their wealth, according to a [report](http://www.grosvenor.com/getattachment/194bb2f9-d778-4701-a0ed-5cb451044ab1/ResilientCitiesResearchReport.pdf) from the Grovsner group. The cities have plans to adjust and the money to implement them. But to a certain degree, the unpredictability of climate change makes the mission of finding a safe haven to settle down an impossible challenge. What may seem like a sure bet today may not be so safe down the road. **“**What’s important now to consider is long-lasting infrastructure,” said Kunkel. “You can build it now for today’s climate, but you may not be quite in tune to what the climate will be in 50 years.” ### See the Most Insane Natural Disasters of 2014  Polar Vortex The U.S. side of Niagara Falls is pictured in Niagara Falls, N.Y. on Jan. 8, 2014\. The frigid air and "polar vortex" affected about 240 million people in the United States and southern Canada. Aaron Harris—Reuters  California Drought A car sits in dried and cracked earth of what was the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir in San Jose, Calif. on Jan. 28, 2014. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  China Smog Tourists walk on the promenade along the bank of the West Lake in heavy smog in Hangzhou city, east China Zhejiang province on Jan. 31, 2014. Zhejiang Daily/Imaginechina/AP  Washington Mudslide A massive mudslide killed at least eight people and left dozens missing in Arlington, Wash., March 24, 2014. Ted S. Warren—AP  Chile Earthquake A rescue worker inspects a car caught under a landslide after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit the northern port of Iquique, Chile on April 2, 2014. Cristian Vivero—Reuters  Arkansas Tornado Aerial view of the central town after a tornado hit Vilonia, Ark., April 28, 2014. Carlo Allegri—Reuters  Afghanistan Mudslide An aerial view shows the site of a landslide that buried Abi Barik village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 5, 2014\. Hundreds of people were killed and 700 families displaced. Rahmat Gul—AP  Southern California Wildfires A house is consumed by wildfire in San Marcos, Calif. on May 14, 2014\. About 500 acres have burned in the San Marcos blaze, fueled by record heat, high winds and dry conditions. At least four other fires advanced in nearby communities. Bill Wechter—Getty Images  Balkan Floods A Serbian army soldier rows a boat as he searches for people to be evacuated in the town of Obrenovac, southwest of Belgrade, Serba on May 16, 2014\. The heaviest rains and floods in 120 years have hit Bosnia and Serbia. Marko Djurica—Reuters  Lightning Hits One World Trade Center Two bolts of lightning hit the antenna on top of One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City on May 23, 2014. Gary Hershorn—Corbis  Yosemite Wildfire A long exposure image shows the El Portal Fire burning near Yosemite National Park, Calif. on July 27, 2014. Stuart Palley  Iceland Volcano The Bardarbunga volcano spews lava and smoke in southeast Iceland on Sept. 14, 2014. Bernard Merci—AFP/Getty Images  Japan Volcano Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel and other rescuers arrive to conduct search operations at the ash-covered Ontake Shrine near the summit of Mount Ontake in central Japan on Oct. 4, 2014. Kyodo News/AP  Hawaii Lava Lava pushes through a fence marking a property boundary above the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii, Oct. 28, 2014. U.S. Geological Survey/AP  Buffalo Snow Storm Storm clouds and snow blow off Lake Erie in Buffalo, N.Y. on Nov. 18, 2014\. An autumn blizzard dumped a year's worth of snow in three days on Western New York state, where five people died and residents, some stranded overnight in cars, braced for another pummeling expected later on Wednesday. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) Lindsay Dedario—Reuters  Philippines Typhoon Hagupit A Filipino typhoon victim collects water in front of a damaged home where Typhoon Hagupit hit, Samar Island, Philippines, on Dec. 8, 2014. Francis R. Malasig—EPA ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Extreme weather was more frequent in recent years. Is it a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Now, has extreme weather been more frequent in recent years? The evidence is definitely to the contrary. The United States has always had extreme weather. We look back on our weather history. It's been punishing. Floods, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, great forest fires. Is global warming happening? No doubt about it. We're living in a warmer world. We're living in a melting world, sea levels are rising. Now, direct evidence of the foot print or the finger print of global warming, we're seeing more frequent, more intense and longer lasting heat waves. As far as hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, floods and drought; the evidence is definitely not in. The consensus among almost all scientists is, is that it's a small finger print, not a large foot print. But what is true is that in this country, in the United States, we live in many areas with great risk to drought, [ NOISE ] to tornadoes, to hurricanes. And so part of the dialog is not only extreme weather and global warming but is the amount of risk we can tolerate. Now, looking to the future, global change, global warming it definitely is accelerating and it will have an impact on extreme weather. But at this point, not much. 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