Free Republic

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...

Landscaping most freeways part of Super Bowl plan It was just three words in a 2,500-word essay in The Economist magazine a couple of years ago, but to Charles McMahen they still sting: "Houston is ugly." Though the article about the city was largely positive, and the ugly reference was aimed broadly at Houston's sprawl, lack of zoning and other issues, McMahen cites the sentence when talking about an initiative to improve the city's gateways. "Clearly, 59 North, the Hardy Toll Road and 45 North are really in need of some work," said McMahen, chairman of the Quality of Life...