flood insurance
Newsletter
Outdated FEMA flood maps leave billions in damages uninsured
Hurricane Debby caused nearly $10 billion in uninsured damages due to outdated FEMA flood maps that failed to reflect current flood risks.
In short:
- Over 75% of properties damaged by Hurricane Debby were outside areas requiring flood insurance.
- FEMA's flood maps are outdated, with some over 50 years old, leaving many homes unprotected.
- Resistance from developers and local governments has stalled updates to the National Flood Insurance Program.
Why this matters:
As climate change increases flood risks, millions of Americans are vulnerable to catastrophic losses without the necessary insurance, risking severe financial and societal impacts.
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Newsletter
Photo by Jorick Jing on Unsplash
Major changes in federal flood insurance program urged by U.S. Senate panel
Congress has spent more than six years avoiding its responsibility to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, using a series of stopgap bills to extend the life of the program that has issued nearly 5 million policies.
Credit: Jenni Konrad/Flickr/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
The billion-dollar industry between you and FEMA's flood insurance
Cutting payments to brokers, or selling policies directly to consumers, could save millions. FEMA says it’s not quite that straightforward.
Photo by Phillip Flores on Unsplash
New Pennsylvania task force to increase accessibility to flood insurance
Officials say climate change is speeding up the need for more people to get insured against flooding. Only 51,000 Pa. households are covered now.
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Coastal New Jersey homeowners lack flood insurance despite rising seas, report says
A gap in flood insurance coverage leaves millions at risk as the frequency and severity of extreme weather events increase across the Northeast, the report notes.
Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur on Unsplash
Government shutdown may hurt home sales in flood-prone areas
Congress funds a flood insurance program that many home buyers in risky areas rely on. The money is about to run out, a real estate trade group warned.
Smith Island is at risk from climate change, but home sales are surging
Maryland’s iconic Smith Island faces one of the nation’s most dire forecasts for rising seas, but real estate is booming.
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