Recent hurricanes highlight gaps in flood insurance system [Video]

Back-to-back hurricanes left behind widespread flood damage across the Southeast, exposing significant gaps in the flood insurance system.There are questions about the financial stability of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the country’s largest provider, and many Americans impacted by Hurricanes Milton and Helene don’t have coverage. “A majority of the population that gets impacted probably won’t have flood insurance and will probably be reliant on much smaller individual assistance and disaster grants from FEMA,” said Jeremy Porter, who leads climate implications research for the First Street Foundation.We analyzed public data on existing NFIP policies and the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent tally of housing units to estimate coverage levels by state. In North Carolina, which saw some of the worst flooding from Helene, only about 3% of homes are actively insured through the federal government’s program. NFIP coverage rates are even lower for mountainous, inland areas like Buncombe County, …