A flooded road in Portland, Oregon.
Credit: Tom Good/Flickr
Congress is taking aim at how communities address some of the most troublesome properties that require repeated federal flood insurance payouts under the National Flood Insurance Program.
Bipartisan legislation introduced yesterday would force communities to address patterns of repeated loss—one of the leading reasons many critics of the federally backed insurance program say it’s in trouble. The bill, which is sponsored by Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), is expected to eventually be wrapped into the reauthorization of the flood insurance program next year.
“Repetitive flood loss continues to place communities and families at risk, while shortchanging the federal taxpayer and all those who pay flood insurance premiums,” Blumenauer said.
The federal flood insurance program plunged into debt after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and, more recently, after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Properties that flood repeatedly represent about 1 percent of the total policies in the program but add up to 25 to 30 percent of the claims. They also represent […]
Coastal cities are only part of it. Cedar Rapids, Iowa came extremely close to a devastating flood again within the past few weeks. Bridges in Des Moines requiring to be rebuilt higher. Along the Mississippi, the navigation dams have had their gates and rollers fully raised to accommodate the higher water levels coming from its tributaries. First time in my lifetime that has happened at this time of year. It used to be only spring time flooding after heavy snowfall up north. Not anymore. Major floods have happened in summer as well. 2008 flooded downtown Cedar Rapids and parts of Iowa City. some of the buildings at the University of Iowa still haven’t been rebuilt. Other parts of the mid west are suffering from too much water as well. The entire country is seeing bad flooding. The flash floods are terrible as they happen so quickly and catch people off guard.