Most Homeowners Affected by Hurricane Helene Don’t Have Flood Insurance Safety Net

Most Homeowners Affected by Hurricane Helene Don't Have Flood Insurance Safety Net
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Beyond just drying out, homeowners whose houses were inundated by Hurricane Helene’s intense rainfall confront a significant issue: how to pay for the cleanup.

This is a result of the majority of Americans not having flood insurance, especially those living in the areas severely damaged by the powerful storm.

The devastating and fatal path that the hurricane took throughout the Southeast shows us how unprepared most affected individuals were for floods, a fact that should serve as a warning to the rest of us, according to experts.

In a matter of minutes, the hurricane completely destroyed or severely damaged mansions, single-family houses, apartments, mobile homes, restaurants, bars, and shops along Florida’s barrier islands that stretch from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

The Insurance Information Institute reports that victims with storm coverage varied from 25% in hard-hit Pinellas County to 5% in Taylor County.

According to the organization, the situation outside of the Sunshine State is considerably worse, with only 1% of residences who were flooded by Hurricane Helene having flood insurance.

Flooding is not covered by a homeowner’s policy and needs to be obtained independently, frequently from the federal government. This is one underlying issue. Government-backed mortgages for residences in high-risk zones as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency must include flood insurance.

Even while many banks require flood insurance in high-risk areas, some homeowners choose to cancel their policy after their mortgage is paid off.

The estimates of the number of homeowners who are vulnerable and those who are protected differ, but they are all unsettling.

99% of U.S. counties have experienced floods since 1996, but according to FEMA estimates, only 4% of houses nationwide have flood insurance. An even higher estimate comes from the Insurance Information Institute, which states that roughly 6% of American homeowners have flood insurance.

Of those, 67% are covered by the National Flood Insurance Program, which is administered by FEMA, and 33% are through private insurers.

If a property is in a high-risk area when purchasing or renting an apartment, most individuals base their decision on this factor when determining whether or not to purchase flood insurance.

Georgina Sanchez, a faculty fellow and research scholar at the Center for Geospatial Analytics at North Carolina State University, contends that doing so gives people a “false sense of security,” though. As happened in western and northern North Carolina, “this perception can discourage residents from purchasing flood insurance,” Sanchez said.

In order to better understand the current and potential future risk of property flooding in specific regions around the country, Sanchez’s institute has collaborated with First Street, a nonprofit organization based in Brooklyn, to develop a flood database.

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According to Sanchez, “many of our homes, businesses, and infrastructure are situated within 800 feet, or roughly two city blocks, from the edge of the 100-year floodplain,” which is used to establish insurance rates because the area is thought to be vulnerable to flooding.

According to a recent nationwide research, 24% of the places where people are building are right outside the 100-year flood zone, or in the buffer zone. She remarked, “We all love to live near water.” “But we’re at a point where we have to ask, do we want to keep putting people in harm’s way.”

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With more than two years of expertise in news and analysis, Eileen Stewart is a seasoned reporter. Eileen is a respected voice in this field, well-known for her sharp reporting and insightful analysis. Her writing covers a wide range of subjects, from politics to culture and more.