Free Republic

Florida’s version of the American dream, which holds that even people of relatively modest means can aspire to live near the water, depends on a few crucial components: sugar white beaches, soft ocean breezes and federal flood insurance that is heavily subsidized. But starting Oct. 1, communities in Florida and elsewhere around the country will see those subsidies begin to disappear in a nationwide experiment in trying to adapt to climate change: Forcing Americans to pay something closer to the real cost of their flood risk, which is rising as the planet warms. While the program also covers homes around...

Devastating floods in Missouri and Texas have given a new impetus to lawmakers fighting for legislation to reform federal flood insurance. The late-December flooding in the Midwest and Southwest claimed more than 40 lives and caused millions of dollars in property damage, adding further financial strain to an insurance program that was already $23 billion in debt. With the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) set to expire in September 2017, some members of Congress say the time has come to pass legislation that puts the program on the path to solvency. "We need to get the private sector in the...

Warmist efforts to shut down scientific skepticism – the very heart of the scientific method – have escalated from mere rhetoric to mobilizing the financial might of the federal government to punish those who dare doubt the orthodoxy. Even though the computer models that have failed to predict actual outcomes must be continually rejiggered, they are proclaimed to be “settled science,” and doubters are to be punished. Now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is preparing to financially punish states whose governors are regarded as heretics. Philly.com reports:

The state is urging property owners along the Massachusetts coast to elevate their homes 1 to 3 feet to protect against storms and the threat that rising seas will bring the waters to their doorsteps. more stories like thisIt's just a recommendation - not a requirement - but the message being delivered by the new StormSmart Coasts program is a sign that many municipal and state officials are concerned about the risk global warming may bring to property owners along the 1,700-mile Massachusetts coastline. "It's scary," said Vincent J. Kalishes III, Scituate's conservation agent, who took part in planning the...

**SNIP** As FEMA has moved to update its decades-old flood maps, experts have cheered the effort. Using the latest in mapping technology such as laser beams (LiDar) and computer modeling will account for climate change, they say, and will lessen the blow of devastating storms by compelling homeowners to reduce their risk. But critics caution that the maps, which are used to determine flood insurance premiums, are tough to challenge and in some cases are ensnaring homeowners who shouldn’t be in a flood zone. And though FEMA intends for everyone to pay their share, some businesses have found a way...

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Tuesday sharply criticized what she called the Obama administration's "short-sighted, misguided and irresponsible" opposition to legislation delaying flood insurance premium increases for four years. Though the statement of administration policy didn't include a veto threat, Landrieu said the White House's position, "threatens the very foundation of the National Flood Insurance Program and will only saddle taxpayers with higher costs when disasters strike." Just before the White House policy statement was released the Senate voted 86-13 to begin debate on legislation that would delay most increases resulting from the 2012 Biggert-Waters Act so, sponsors say,...

A major flood insurance bill was a rarity when it passed what is widely derided as a do-nothing Congress in 2012, but a year and a half later, there is now an enthusiastic bipartisan effort to gut it. This week the Senate is expected to approve a measure that would block, repeal or delay many of the key provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, which was sponsored by Representative Judy Biggert, an Illinois Republican, and Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat. Tucked into broader transportation legislation, the bill had enthusiastic support across the political spectrum, from liberal environmentalists...

When Colin and Joyce Elston bought their Florida dream home in May, they were confident they could afford the three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch with a pool and a backyard overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. Now they are not so sure. The retirees said they had enough in savings and investments to pay the mortgage and the $1,482 yearly flood insurance on the home, which sits on palm tree-lined Paradise Boulevard on Treasure Island, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico. But within two months of moving in, they received a stunning surprise: Due to a recently passed federal law, their flood...

The federal government, the MSM, the Democrat party, all hold the thesis of global warming as the gospel truth. NY Governor, Andy Cuomo, as he surveyed submerged tunnels and subway stations in NYC, said that the "hundred year storm now seems to be occurring every two or three years." NJ elected officials, inspecting the devastation along miles of Jersey shoreline, vowed to rebuild. Who will be the first to point out the inherent contradiction in these comments?

Criticisms Convince State To Back Off Projections of Dramatic Sea Level RiseState officials still pushing coastal counties to prepare for a one-meter rise By Sara Burrows Feb. 20th, 2012 RALEIGH — State officials are pressuring local governments to plan for a one-meter sea-level rise by 2100, even though many independent scientists have argued the rise is highly unlikely if not impossible. Even though a state advisory panel no longer recommends regulations based on the one-meter projection, local government officials worry that state regulators will try to implement those rules. Such a policy, they say, would have a devastating impact on...

Real estate industry warns of consequences Fearing another blow to a still-fragile housing market, real estate agents are pushing Congress to grant a long-term extension to the National Flood Insurance Program, which is set to expire this month for the 10th time in two years. Established by Congress in 1968, the program provides coverage to more than 5.6 million home and business owners in more than 21,000 communities nationwide that have adopted floodplain management plans in an effort to mitigate flood damage. Though private insurers sell the policies and administer claims, the federal government sets rates and assumes liability for...

More proof that the federal government should not be in the business of "insurance".

In a sweeping proposal, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. has asked Congress to allow private companies to begin selling flood coverage in hopes of getting more people to buy it, reducing the burden on the federal treasury in times of disaster and avoiding disputes over the causes of hurricane damage. Although the proposal comes as floods are destroying towns across the Midwest where only about 17 percent of homes have flood insurance, the program has its roots in Hurricane Katrina's watery devastation and the ubiquitous flood versus wind disputes along the Gulf Coast. Nationwide, which does not do business in Louisiana,...

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Wednesday threatened to veto a post-Katrina bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would expand the federal government's flood insurance program to cover wind damage. The bill sponsored by California Democrat Maxine Waters was expected to reach the House floor on Thursday. Among other steps, it would add wind damage to perils covered under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), set up in 1968. The White House said in a statement it opposes adding wind coverage to the national flood program. "Shifting liabilities for windstorm damage from the private sector...

GULFPORT, Miss. - A federal judge on Friday refused to throw out a lawsuit that a couple filed against Allstate Insurance Co. after the insurer refused to cover damage to their home from Hurricane Katrina. The lawsuit, filed by Elmer and Alexa Buente of Gulfport, is one of many spawned by a fierce debate over whether Gulf Coast homes were destroyed by the Aug. 29 hurricane's wind or water. U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr., said the question of how much damage to the couple's home was caused by wind and water is a "fact-specific" inquiry that must be decided...

Gulf Coast residents could receive federal money for uninsured homes Gulf Coast residents who did not purchase flood insurance because they lived outside areas considered at high risk of flooding — but whose homes were nevertheless ravaged by Hurricane Katrina — would be in line for an unprecedented government bailout under a budget package approved Monday by the House of Representatives. If the $29 billion earmarked for Katrina relief in a defense appropriations bill that the House passed Monday morning wins final congressional approval, up to $11.5 billion will go toward those uninsured flood victims in Mississippi and Louisiana. Story...

OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi (Reuters) - The survivors of Hurricane Katrina, whose bludgeoned houses litter the U.S. Gulf Coast, are gearing up for another epic battle, this time against their insurers. Almost two weeks after the killer storm swept ashore, homeless residents are only now beginning to contact their insurance companies, and they do not like what they hear. The problem is that when Katrina came ashore in Mississippi state, which lies just east of Louisiana and devastated New Orleans, it brought with it a record storm surge that appeared to do much of the damage, leveling entire communities. Initial comments...

My engineering training kicked in when I saw the NASA photographs from space of New Orleans, and of the whole Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. There is an obvious solution to the New Orleans problem. The Dutch have already demonstrated it. Take New Orleans as the first and worst example. The pumps, levees and canals intended to protect New Orleans have been controlled by local authorities. They left three of the four pumping stations dependent on the local power grid. Hellooo. The precise time those pumps are most needed is during a storm when the local power grid...

Does the US government disaster aid assist those who have built homes in vulnerable areas such as the Outer Banks of North Carolina and don't have flood insurance -if flood insurance is even available?Does US Government assistance subsidize wealthy home owners (vacation homes) who have chosen to build in these vulnerable areas?

Sept. 19— As you watch those pictures of houses under assault from Hurricane Isabel, doesn't it make you wonder: Why do people build their homes so close to the water? They must have known a hurricane might do this. Why would they take such a foolish risk? Well, people take the risk, because our government encourages us to take it. I know all about this, because I did it myself. In 1980, I bought some beachfront property on Long Island, N.Y., and built a house there. It was a big investment for me. The down payment took just about all...