When Zillow Group Inc. removed climate risk scores from its home listings last month, following a complaint from the real estate industry, many observers took to the press and social media to warn that disappearing the data doesn’t get rid of the risk.
In a world assailed by extreme weather, homeowners and purchasers need to know their property’s vulnerability to wildfire or flooding. Ratings like those Zillow took down — which use the latest science, advanced computing and satellite imagery — are a big improvement on often outdated federal flood maps and state wildfire maps.