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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed an executive order requiring federal projects to meet stricter standards for withstanding flooding that scientists say could worsen because of climate change.
The White House says the order applies to buildings, roads and other projects built or repaired with federal dollars.
Federal agencies can choose from three approaches. They can apply the latest climate change science and data to ensure projects are strong enough to withstand future storms. Or they can build projects two feet above the level that a flood would statistically exceed once every hundred years. A third option is to build to the level that a flood would exceed on average every 500 years.
The move is part of Obama's campaign to encourage communities to prepare for the effects of global warming.
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