Insurance coverage for homeowners in hurricane prone areas is becoming one a major policy challenge. As it turns out both instructors have their own insuance nightmare stories to tell.

The recent and ongoing cost increases for homeowner’s and flood insurance coverage in coastal Louisiana (including metro New Orleans), coupled with collapse or relocation of some insurance companies, is negatively impacting ordinary, working people who live in the area. Dinah’s experience may be “average” compared to her neighbors, some of whom have suffered much greater heartache and loss following Hurricane Ida in 2021. Ida hit the Louisiana coast as a category 4 storm, wrecking the Gulf town of Grand Isle and leaving a wide swath of flooding and wind damage in its wake as it traveled inland. Jogging close to New Orleans, it wreaked havoc in the western suburbs of the city, leaving tens of thousands of damaged roofs, not to mention cutting power and water for weeks. Then came the insurance nightmares, playing out over the next couple of years. Dinah had a homeowner’s policy with a company that left Louisiana because of Ida’s losses. Although this insurance company did cover the cost of the repairs, including a new roof, a new homeowner’s policy had to be found. As of 2023, the cost of the new homeowner’s policy is approximately 3 times the cost of the original one at over $3,000 annually. Many families cannot afford these policies, and some go without. This results in neighborhoods sporting blue tarps for years after a storm as repairs are unaffordable for many families.

Meanwhile, flood insurance has increased steadily each year (FEMA's updated Risk Rating 2.0 is allowed to impose an 18% annual increase to existing policies). Dinah’s house is in flood zone X and does not require a flood insurance policy, but recent experiences in Louisiana mean it is wise to carry flood insurance in this location. The house is a few blocks from the Mississippi River levee and close to much lower ground and flood zone AE. Dinah’s family also has a small home in coastal Mississippi (flood zone AE), built recently and elevated to 20 feet (3 feet above the required base flood elevation). Flood insurance on this property under the new National Flood Insurance Policy is $4,000 annually. Again, this is a modest house and built with flood mitigation in mind. Other properties are much more costly to insure or are uninsurable because they do not meet minimum elevation requirements. In some cases, families use cash to purchase homes and go without insurance. It is clear as Dinah looks around and talks to neighbors that these increasing costs are having a deep impact on the housing market, changing what were previously modest neighborhoods in coastal areas into places only the wealthy can afford, and many properties are bought by companies that make rental money from them. This is happening all around the coastal areas of the U.S. and impacting millions of people.

Tim’s insurance nightmare started after hurricane Fran sent a 150 foot red oak tree onto his Chapel Hill house at 2AM on September 6th 1996. The tree caused extensive roof damage and water damage in the house. Ceilings were wrecked and carpet was damaged. He contacted his insurance companies, one of the largest insurance companies in the country, and they came out to the house within days and promised to help restore the damage. It was a shock when a letter from the adjustor arrived with estimates of what the company would pay. 54 cents a square foot for ceilings to be repaired, a few hundreds of dollars for the roof. This was insult to injury for Tim and his family who had endured to trauma of a massive tree hitting their roof followed by 10 days without power in sweltering heat.

This anecdote is sadly very common for home and business owners who have been impacted by storm damage and the situation seems to be getting worse as coastal areas have become increasingly developed and storms more devastating. In fact, insurance companies themselves have been faced with major financial losses resulting from major hurricanes. Homeowners’ premiums have risen sharply, and in several cases, insurance companies have left states such as Florida and Louisiana because business is not profitable. This leaves states in a real bind as these two videos show.

Video: Florida Faces Insurance Crisis From Hurricane Ian (7:56)

Video: Louisiana's Insurance Crisis: Homeowner's policy rates by ZIP Code (7:22)

If you purchase property in a flood zone, and you have a mortgage, you are required to purchase a flood insurance policy in addition to a homeowner’s policy. The National Flood Insurance Program, (NFIP) was created by legislation in 1968 and has maintained the affordability of insurance for homeowners in flood-prone (both inland and coastal) areas since then. This sounds like a great idea on the surface, but there are some problems with this policy that need to be addressed by Congress.

The NFIP was created to protect property owners in flood-prone areas from disastrous losses in the event of flooding. NFIP, which is managed by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) is federally subsidized and kept affordable by borrowing money from the U.S. Treasury in order to keep the program solvent. It is currently in “deep water” so to speak, in fact, it is in debt to the tune of $40 billion. Climate change is complicating the picture. Because of the increase in the frequency of catastrophic flooding in the past 20 years, NFIP has become deeper in debt and in danger of lapsing coverage for property owners. For example, in 2017, many Houston residents whose property flooded in Harvey were not required to have insurance based on their flood zones. This raises further questions about how to manage flood loss in the coming years. The NFIP is no longer a sustainable way to protect property, and it is clear that changes are needed.

Also, although it was not originally intended to do so, the affordability of flood insurance through the NFIP has encouraged development in flood-prone areas, creating an even bigger problem. Homeowners have become accustomed to the availability of affordable flood insurance for their primary residences as well as their second homes on the coast, the number of which has ballooned since the NFIP first came into existence. According to a 2013 study, about one-third of all properties insured under NFIP are second homes (Gaul, 2019).

Without government subsidies insurance rates are likely to increase dramatically, so attempts to change the NFIP have so far been unsuccessful. However, FEMA is in the process of updating the NFIP with the Risk Rating 2.0 Program, which went into effect in 2021.

The overhaul is designed to help address some of the inequity issues with the NFIP and to update the process using current data and technology. New maps are replacing the older FIRM maps and properties are assessed based on their proximity to a water body as well as other features of the property. Raising your property’s height to an additional elevation above the standard base flood elevation* no longer reduces flood insurance premiums, however. You can read about these changes at FEMA: RiskRating 2.0: Equity in Action.

The 21st-century rating system, Risk Rating 2.0—Equity in Action, provides actuarially sound rates that are equitable and easy to understand. It transforms a pricing methodology that has not been updated in 50 years by leveraging improved technology and FEMA’s enhanced understanding of flood risk. (fema.gov)

Video: Defining a Property’s Unique Flood Risk (1:15)

However, there is still work to be done, as in some cases flood insurance has become unaffordable. Lower-income families are having to forego insurance, placing them further at risk. The changes have the potential to change where people choose to build or buy, and the changes are also affecting the livelihood of people who live and work in communities that are flood-prone.

According to the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) in It’s Time to Fix Our Water-Logged National Flood Insurance Program (nrdc.org):

Congress must act to create a means-tested flood insurance option that helps lower-income families purchase flood insurance, and that prioritizes those same families for flood adaptation assistance. (nrdc.org)

 

Screenshot of FEMA Flood Insurance Risk Map (FIRM) for Miami Beach.

Credit: FEMA (Public Domain)

More on Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Base Flood Elevation

Flood Insurance Rate Maps are used to determine a property’s flood insurance. A potential homeowner can access these maps before deciding to purchase property in a flood zone. The maps are also designed to help residents of coastal communities plan for and mitigate the flood risk to their properties by delineating flood zones and identifying Base Flood Elevations (BFE). The BFE is the height to which a location has a 1% annual chance of being flooded. A house must be built at or above the BFE to be eligible for flood insurance.

The FIRM zones are based on elevation and proximity to water, as well as several other factors that determine a property’s risk of flooding. Visit this site to read about the flood zones shown on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).

For state and local governments as well as entities such as hospitals, universities, and school districts, developing Emergency Operation Plans (EOPs) is a vital task. An EOP helps everyone who is involved in the disaster management cycle know what he or she should do from the point at which a natural hazard threatens to strike, all the way to the final recovery from the ensuing disaster. It explains who will do what, when, with what resources, and by what authority. Included in these responsibilities is the need to transmit hazard preparedness information and last-minute hazard information to the public. In the response period, when time is in short supply and everyone – from the highest government official to individual householders – is under stress, an EOP helps people respond appropriately and use resources efficiently. See an example of part of an EOP in Box 1.

Educating the public about the existence of warning systems, how they work, and how to react when it is activated are essential components of the preparation.

Tsunami Warning and Public Readiness

In the parts of the United States' most vulnerable to tsunamis – that is, the coastal zones of Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California – this primarily takes the form of evacuation planning. Anyone driving through low-lying coastal areas of these states is likely to notice tsunami hazard zone and tsunami evacuation route signs lining the roads, and warning signs in beachside hotels and motels.

The National Weather Service’s Tsunami Ready website provides a wealth of guidance for the public about what readiness for a tsunami involves and how to achieve it. Communities can organize tsunami ready training through the NWS program with the goal of achieving community-wide tsunami readiness.

Residents and visitors on the Oregon coast have several location-specific tools to use to learn about tsunami risk in their area and to receive messages about tsunami threats. The State of Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Resources Oregon Tsunami Clearinghouse is a web site where you can go to get detailed evacuation maps, smartphone apps to aid evacuation, and an interactive evacuation zone map viewer at NVS Tsunami Evacuation Zones.

Learning Check Point

Hurricane Storm Surge Warnings and Public Readiness

When a hurricane is approaching the United States and threatens to make landfall, Emergency Operation Plans go into action in the areas likely to be affected. As we mentioned above in the mitigation section, forecasting local storm surge levels can be challenging as it depends on several factors, including the track of the storm, exact landfall location, the timing of the tide cycle, water depth, and the angle and slope of the shoreline, complicating accurate predictions. This, in turn, affects preparation communication.

Therefore, hurricane preparation in a community that may receive a storm surge must start well before the magnitude of the threat is certain for that location. Evacuation orders should be made 72 hours in advance of a storm’s landfall. Many mandatory evacuations have been communicated to the public, only to see the path of the hurricane turn elsewhere. This means that city or county leaders must decide several days out to close schools and businesses, mobilize transportation for those without, prepare shelters, etc. Additionally, all communities within the “cone of uncertainty” of forecast tracks based on modeling, must be on alert and be making preparations. A storm’s track can change significantly during the approach, depending on the steering factors. Hurricane Sally in September 2020 is a good example. Greater New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana were under a hurricane warning and evacuations and preparation well underway but within 36 hours of landfall, the track moved significantly to the east, so that Mississippi, Alabama, and western Florida received the brunt of the storm surge effects and hurricane warnings were downgraded to tropical storm warnings in New Orleans. Residents of the storm-aware Gulf coast must stay vigilant for these kinds of changes in the forecast.

On a family level, preparedness begins with making a hurricane supply kit (see below) and making a plan for the event of a hurricane. Within 72 hours of landfall, multitudes of decisions must be made, and actions taken. A very abbreviated list of things to be considered in a coastal community threatened by storm surge is: Securing or moving all moveable/ floatable items to a safe place; Securing boats in dock; fueling and moving vehicles, boats, trailers, etc. out of harm’s way; securing the house, by boarding up windows or closing hurricane shutters, and turning off water and power; planning evacuation route and accommodation while away; and communicating with neighbors and family members to ensure everyone has a way to evacuate and a place to go.

Information driving preparedness is broadcast in many ways. A resident in a storm surge zone can best track the storm via local TV news stations and weathercasts to find details about the storm’s impacts in their community. These are often pushed as notifications to mobile devices. The National Hurricane Center provides many kinds of useful graphics that are updated every 4 hours. Mobile Apps are available to access this information too.

It is easy to recognize the importance of communicating emergency plans to the public, but many problems can occur in the process. In reality, when emergency information is sent out by a city or state governmental entity, some people will not receive this information, or they may not respond appropriately to it. For example, if the information is broadcast only in English, then non-English speakers in the United States may not fully understand the messages. Poor households in developing countries may not have radios, televisions, smartphones, or other devices needed to receive the information.

Due to many factors (cultural, language, economic, psychological, and social), some people who do receive and understand the government’s communications will choose not to heed warnings and follow instructions given by the government. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, many long-time New Orleans residents chose to stay in New Orleans despite dire evacuation warnings. Among many reasons used for not evacuating, some included: financial constraints on their ability to evacuate the city (typically lack of transportation and no funds for traveling); frequency of hurricane evacuation warnings in recent years (evacuation fatigue); misconceptions about the severity of the storm; perceptions that they were not vulnerable to hurricane risks; worries about leaving pets; and concerns about the need to protect their property from criminal activity.

In many communities in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, cross-cultural communication has been adopted to ensure all residents receive important messages for preparation for hazardous events. Cross-cultural communication recognizes the diversity of target populations in terms of language and culture, and emergency managers must take these factors into account so that messages are broadcast in the multiple languages spoken in the community in question. Using multiple media platforms and methods for disseminating messages is also essential. The technology available to many people such as texting and social media has helped greatly in recent years. Traditional media like television, radio, newspapers, the Internet, and printed flyers are still important, but other ways of communicating, such as through multiple social media platforms, have become more and more important. Modern communication tends to depend heavily on the mobile or cellular telephone network. In cyclone and tsunami conditions, communication towers can be toppled and rendered useless. In 2005, when cellphone use was common, but texting was less common, loss of communication was an enormous problem across the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, rendering cellphones useless and greatly hampering search and rescue and preventing people from locating loved ones.

Learning Check Point

Please take a minute to answer the question below. It will not be graded, but it may help you on the Module Summative Assessment.

The Department of Homeland Security’s website: Ready gives guidance to Americans on readiness for all types of emergencies. The section focusing on hurricane preparedness includes this engaging video to catch the viewer’s attention.

Please watch the following short video on hurricane preparedness from Ready - Hurricanes.

Video: When the Waves Swell (1:30)

A basic emergency supply kit suggested by ready.gov includes the following recommended items to prepare in case of evacuation:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Manual can opener
• Paper local maps
• Cell phone with chargers, inverter, or solar charger

I am adding a couple of items to this list from the article in the Tampa Bay Times linked below:

• Camping equipment – Sleeping bags, pillows, and propane stove
• Plenty of cash to tide you over a period of no power for digital payment transactions
• Prescription medications and medical records if health conditions warrant
• Personal documents such as government ID, passport, birth certificate (latter should be stored in a dry box in a safe place if not included in evacuation kit)

Emergency Supply List

Building an emergency supply kit is an important hurricane preparedness activity. Go to Ready and find a document called Emergency Supply List. This is a list that helps you build an emergency supply kit. The document identifies recommended basic items and additional items for adding to the kit. Answer the questions below, identifying the items listed either as a “basic item” or an “additional item” based on this document.

Learning Check Point

Check all that apply for each question

Example of Community Hurricane Preparation – Tampa Bay Times

Tampa Bay Times provides readers with very thorough guidance on hurricane preparation:

• Hurricane 2019: The gear you need to stay safe - and comfortable - for the storm
• Hurricane 2020: Protect your home, business, documents, and photos

These two articles cover hurricane preparation – including protecting property and preparing for evacuation. The article covering protecting homes and businesses makes some very important points relevant to any hurricane season, but particularly relevant to 2020, with the extra complication of the COVID-19 pandemic. It emphasizes the importance of planning ahead and making preparations such as purchasing supplies for securing homes and businesses (generators, plywood, storage bins, etc.) early in the hurricane season, and not waiting until a storm threatens.

It also details important tips on storing important documents in waterproof containers ready for evacuation and having a supply of prescription medications on hand for the event of a long period without pharmacy service. The importance of these details may easily be overlooked until the event. Many New Orleanians can attest to this, having neglected to prepare ahead of time and protect essential documents like birth certificates and medical records, which had to be replaced after Katrina. Another really important tip is to have cash on hand. Without power, normal methods of card payment and bank ATM machines and the like do not work. Without cell phone service and power, the ability to access information and to do online banking and shopping is severely curtailed.

In addition, the importance of preparing digital copies of important documents cannot be overemphasized. But this also brings up the importance of taking care of computers and other digital devices and office equipment. File backup onto portable hard drives is essential and once this is completed, if a storm is threatening your area, desktop computers, larger devices, and machines should be powered down and unplugged. All valuables should be moved to the highest points of homes, such as upstairs, if possible. Tablets, phones, etc. should also be backed up but they should be included in the to-go list. It’s important to remember that although you hope you will be able to return in a couple of days after evacuation, this may not be possible. So, preparing for at least one week is important. After Hurricane Katrina, most New Orleans residents could not return for 6 weeks or longer and returned only to survey destroyed properties.

Learning Check Point

This activity will not be graded, but the Module Summative Assessment requires you to have the skills and knowledge it applies. Please take a few minutes to think about what you just learned and answer the questions below.

In short, policies that encourage emergency planning, including effective communication of warnings and evacuations, are foundational to protecting people and places from the ravages of tsunamis and hurricane storm surge.