Conflicting federal policies are putting thousands of residents in flood-prone areas at risk, potentially increasing their flood insurance costs or leaving them unaware of dangers posed by upstream dams. This issue arises from a complex interplay of flood policies and national security measures implemented post-9/11, which hinder the release of critical information regarding dam safety. FEMA's points-based rating system requires communities to identify and warn about risks from dam failures, but federal restrictions on dam information make this difficult. A California emergency services official highlighted the life-threatening implications of these sharing procedures during a 2020 presentation to FEMA. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has started to release flood zone maps, other agencies continue to restrict vital data. The Bureau of Reclamation plans to revise its information-sharing policies, with updates expected by 2025, but concerns remain about the effectiveness and speed of these changes.