FEMA has proposed a major revision of the NFIP, including increasing the subsidy for low and middle-income insureds. This poses a wicked problem – without the increased subsidy, these insured will either have to go bare or move. With the…
Category: National Flood Insurance Program
Louisiana Sues the National Flood Insurance Program
Complaint – Louisiana State et al v. Department of Homeland Security et al, Docket No. 2:23-cv-01839 (E.D. La. Jun 01, 2023) Defendants’ Memorandum In Opposition To Plaintiffs’ Motion For Preliminary Injunction – Louisiana State et al v. Department of Homeland…
CRS: Options for Making the National Flood Insurance Program More Affordable
Introduction Many Members and stakeholders have expressed concern about the perceived affordability of flood insurance premiums, concerns which have come to the fore as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) introduces a new pricing system known as Risk Rating 2.0.…
FEMA – Disaster Operations Legal Reference Manuals
Version 3.1 This mid-edition online update of the Disaster Operations Legal Reference (DOLR 3.1) describes the legal authorities for FEMA’s readiness, response, and recovery activities. It supersedes DOLR 3.0, issued in March 2017. Because this reference is not exhaustive, the…
FEMA Standards for Substantial Improvement / Substantial Damage Determinations
FEMA, 2010. Substantial Improvement / Substantial Damage Desk Reference, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC When buildings undergo repair or improvement, it is an opportunity for local floodplain management programs to reduce flood damage to existing structures. More than 21,000…
Cost of Hurricane Katrina Relief and Rebuilding
Erwann O. Michel-Kerjan, Mortgages and Disasters A Ticking Bomb? (2014) Hurricane Katrina Fact File – Insurance Information Institute (2010) Towers Watson, Hurricane Katrina: Analysis of the Impact on the Insurance Industry (2005) After Hurricane Katrina: How federal aid helped the…
Corps of Engineers systematically underestimates river flood risk
Robert E Criss, Statistics of evolving populations and their relevance to flood risk, Journal of Earth Science 1–7 (2016). ABSTRACT: Statistical methods are commonly used to evaluate natural populations and environmental variables, yet these must recognize temporal trends in population…
National Flood Insurance Program: Evaluation
National Flood Insurance Program: Evaluation (FEMA – 2006) Original Link The NFIP Evaluation Capstone Study summarizes what was done, what was learned, and recommendations made. It synthesizes the sub-study findings into a coherent report evaluating the aspects of the Program…
Tying Flood Insurance to Flood Risk for Low-Lying Structures in the Floodplains
Tying Flood Insurance to Flood Risk for Low-Lying Structures in the Floodplains Authors Committee on Risk-Based Methods for Insurance Premiums of Negatively Elevated Structures in the National Flood Insurance Program; Water Science and Technology Board; Division on Earth and Life…
The National Flood Insurance Program Does Not Cover Debris Removal
Torre v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co., No. 14-2733 In a case of first impression, the Third Circuit rules that the NFIP does not cover debris removal from property because it does not cover land. There is useful discussion of…
Executive Order: Taking Action to Protect Communities and Reduce the Cost of Future Flood Disasters
Original Fact Sheet: Taking Action to Protect Communities and Reduce the Cost of Future Flood Disasters Executive Order – Establishing A Federal Flood Risk Management Standard And A Process For Further Soliciting And Considering Stakeholder Input FEMA Flood Risk Management Site…
FEMA Recovery Guidance Advisory Base Flood Elevation for New Orleans – 2006
FEMA Recovery Guidance Advisory Base Flood Elevation for New Orleans – 2006 – Presentation FEMA reference materials for rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina
Understanding FEMA’s Rate-Setting Methods for the National Flood Insurance Program
CBO, The National Flood Insurance Program: Factors Affecting Actuarial Soundness, (2009) Presentation: Understanding FEMA’s Rate-Setting Methods for the National Flood Insurance Program
Encroaching Tides – How Sea Level Rise and Tidal Flooding Threaten U.S. East and Gulf Coast Communities
Spanger-Siegfried, E., M.F. Fitzpatrick, and K. Dahl. 2014. Encroaching tides: How sea level rise and tidal flooding threaten U.S. East and Gulf Coast communities over the next 30 years. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists. Today scores of coastal communities in…
Reducing Coastal Risks on the East and Gulf Coasts – NRC
National Research Council. Reducing Coastal Risks on the East and Gulf Coasts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2014. National Vision Needed to Achieve Comprehensive Risk Reduction Along Atlantic and Gulf Coasts WASHINGTON – A national vision for coastal risk…
EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS – Limiting Federal Fiscal Exposure
EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS: Limiting Federal Fiscal Exposure and Increasing the Nation’s Resilience GAO-14-364T: Published: Feb 12, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 12, 2014. What GAO Found The federal government has opportunities to limit its exposure and increase the nation’s resilience to…
FLOOD INSURANCE – Strategies for Increasing Private Sector Involvement
FLOOD INSURANCE Strategies for Increasing Private Sector Involvement What GAO Found According to stakeholders with whom GAO spoke, several conditions must be present to increase private sector involvement in the sale of flood insurance. First, insurers need to be able…
Witless Policy and the Barrier Islands
William J. Siffin, BUREAUCRACY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND NATURAL RESOURCES: Witless Policy and the Barrier Islands, 1 Cato Journal 291 (1981} A good, early review of the unintended consequences of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Standard Flood Insurance Policy Forms
http://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program/standard-flood-insurance-policy-forms Standard Flood Insurance Policy Forms Main Content Dwelling Policy Form General Property Policy Form Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP) Form The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) offers three Standard Flood Insurance Policy forms. These forms provide policyholders with…
FLOOD INSURANCE: More Information Needed on Subsidized Properties
Report What GAO Found The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters Act) immediately eliminated subsidies for about 438,000 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies, but subsidies on an estimated 715,000 policies across the nation remain. Depending on factors…
FLOOD INSURANCE: Implications of Changing Coverage Limits and Expanding Coverage
Report What GAO Found The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) currently has more than 5.5 million policyholders insured for about $1.3 trillion who pay about $3.5 billion in annual premiums, but less than half purchase maximum coverage–a possible indicator of…
Overwhelming Risk – Rethinking Flood Insurance in a World of Rising Seas
Union of Concerned Scientists Our coasts face growing risks from sea level rise. Today’s flood insurance system encourages development that increases these risks — and taxpayers nationwide pay the price. Sea level is rising and increasing the risk of destructive…
The Pontchartrain Levee District Progress Report – 2012
The Pontchartrain Levee District Progress Report – 2012 From the Report: The Pontchartrain Levee District (PLD) is the local sponsor for the projects referenced herein. Currently, there are projects in each of the six parishes comprising the PLD’s jurisdiction. As…
ASFPM Report: Flood Mapping for the Nation
ASFPM Report: Flood Mapping for the Nation Executive Summary: The Association of State Floodplain Managers has developed an estimate, based on a careful analysis, of the total cost to provide floodplain mapping for all communities in the nation based on…
The Impact of Hurricane Isaac on Louisiana
http://theadvocate.com/news/5301477-123/isaacs-impact After Hurricane Katrina questions were raised about the long term safety of low lying communities outside the New Orleans levee system. No decisions were made and redevelopment was funded in these communities. These areas were flooded by Hurricane Gustav,…
Flood Control History
The Nation’s Responses To Flood Disasters: A Historical Account Alexander, J.S., Wilson, R.C., and Green, W.R., 2012, A brief history and summary of the effects of river engineering and dams on the Mississippi River system and delta: U.S. Geological Survey…
Congress Reforms the National Flood Insurance Program
Full Text of the Bill – Technical Correction Congressional Committee Report – Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 Homeland Security: Privacy Impact Assessment, National Flood Insurance Program Information Technology System, Oct. 12, 2012 Georgetown Climate Center Analysis of the Flood Insurance Reform…
Study of the Economic Effects of Charging Actuarially Based Premium Rates for Pre-FIRM Structures
This report presents the results of a study on the economic effects of charging actuarially based premiums for pre-FIRM (Flood Insurance Rate Map) structures. The study was performed in response to Section 578 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act…
NAP Report on Resilience in LA and MS after Katrina
Assessing National Resilience to Hazards and Disasters:
The Perspective from the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi: Summary of a Workshop
GAO – Action Needed to Improve Administration of the NFIP
FEMA faces significant management challenges in areas that affect NFIP, including strategic and human capital planning; collaboration among offices; and records, financial, and acquisition management.