Houma Courier
HOUMA — Fewer than 50 percent of households and businesses in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes have flood insurance policies, according to parish officials. But parish officials say that's not enough in a community that faces flooding threats from heavy rainfall, river flooding and an increasing threat of storm surge as wetlands erode away and the Gulf of Mexico continues to march further inland.
"It is vitally important that everyone get flood insurance because this is the cheapest means of flood protection available to individuals," said Pat Gordon, Terrebonne's planning and zoning director.
Flooding is the No. 1 most common disaster in the U.S., according to officials with FEMA. Hurricane Ike caused $406 million in insured property damage claims, including $309 million in flood claims. Hurricane Katrina caused $13.2 billion in flood claims with the average claim being $95,000. Hurricane Rita caused $207 million in flood claims with an average claim of $64,000.
Out of 15 federally declared disasters in Louisiana in the past 10 years, a total of 12 or 80 percent of those disasters were flood-related or included flooding caused by a tropical storm or hurricane.
In the state as a whole, fewer than 30 percent of households have flood insurance. Out of more than 1.6 million Louisiana households, nearly half a million have purchased flood insurance policies through the National Flood Insurance Program.
In Terrebonne, 19,909 homes and businesses have flood insurance policies with the National Flood Insurance Program, the only local source of flood insurance. That represents about 50 percent of parish homes and businesses, Gordon said. In Lafourche, there are 14,295 policies in place, about 44 percent of homes and businesses.
That number should be topping 80 percent, Gordon said.
"Many people assume that their homeowners' insurance covers floods, but it usually doesn't," said FEMA Region 6 Regional Administrator Tony Russell. "Others think that if they don't live in a flood zone then they don't have to buy flood insurance or simply can't because it's not offered; both assumptions are inaccurate."
South Lafourche Levee Director Windell Curole can tick off a number of watery reasons you should get a flood insurance policy that go beyond hurricanes.
"We drain 41 percent of the United States. The Mississippi River is the largest river in North America, and we live on its great delta. The very land we live on was made by flooding," Curole said.
River flooding is always a possibility, when you live on a delta, we've just gotten better at controlling it over the years, he added.
And consider your environment, Curole said. We live in the swamps, and get over 60 inches of rain a year, on average, sometimes falling at a rate of as much as 11 inches a day. "Even when you have good drainage, that can stack up," Curole said.
Hurricanes and tropical storms that can stack up storm surges of up to 30 feet, as residents of the southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi coasts saw during Hurricane Katrina.
Flood insurance not only gives you piece of mind and the ability to protect your home, it helps you to rebuild afterward, Gordon said.
If you're enrolled in the flood insurance program, and your home floods, you become eligible for a number of programs that will help you elevate, relocate to higher ground, or hurricane-proof your home.
And in Terrebonne, because the community has taken steps to decrease its flood risk, parish residents are eligible for a 15 percent discount off their flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System. Lafourche is not enrolled in that program.
Many people in Terrebonne and Lafourche believe they're safe from flooding because they've never flooded before. But in a community that's under an increasing threat from storm surge as the coast sinks and erodes away, officials say you shouldn't take that chance.
"Just like car insurance, if it wasn't required by law, there would be a lot of people who'd opt out because they've never gotten into a wreck before," Gordon said. "I would highly recommend that everyone down here gets flood insurance."
Other common myths about flood insurance, according to FEMA:
n Only homeowners can purchase flood insurance. The truth is anyone in National Flood Insurance Program participating communities can purchase flood insurance. Both Terrebonne and Lafourche belong to the program.
n People can't buy flood insurance if they are located in a high flood risk area. Actually anyone can buy flood insurance no matter where they live, as long as the community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program.
n People can't buy flood insurance if their property has been flooded before. People are eligible to purchase a flood insurance policy after a flood, as long as the community is participating in the National Flood Insurance Program.
n People can't buy flood insurance immediately before or during a flood. You can purchase flood insurance any time. There is usually a 30-day waiting period before the policy is effective.
