California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
In preparation for El Nino, a record number of Californians have purchased flood insurance policies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said. Since August, the agency has seen a 25 percent increase in policies or about 55,500 new policies. FEMA attributes the rise in flood insurance policies to El Nino.
“Flooding is in the country’s top natural disaster threat, both in terms of costs and fatalities,” spokeswoman Mary Simms told the Associated Press.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and works with more than 80 private insurance companies to provide households and businesses with flood insurance.
Some homeowners are required to have homeowners insurance, depending on their flood risk level. If they live in a high-risk area, there is a 1 in 4 chance that a flooding will occur at some point during a 30-year mortgage. Mortgage lenders generally make the requirement as part of the mortgage.
