From what I was told by someone that had their house flooded in a Florida hurricane, they look at the high water mark in your house. The water stains the wall.
It it's above the high water mark you won't have much trouble claiming it. It it's below the high water mark, you'll need to prove that the damage being covered wasn't caused by flood waters.
Looking at a water mark only works when one has a wall or house left standing.
And I'll try to explain the State of Mississippi's insurance nuances (to the best of my understanding), if there is a policy that covers wind damage but excludes flood damage, the insurance company has to pay for the damages it covered. The problem here right now is that the insurance companies are not paying anyone for any wind damage, they are just saying "flood and not a dime" on houses that are just gone.
I dont think that insurance companies should have to pay for things they didn't cover, but I think if they sold a hurricane policy, they should pay for hurricane damage. And silly me, I think a hurricane wind driven wall of water is hurricane damage.
Our designated flood plains are alongside rivers and bays, but the beaches are on the Gulf of Mexico. I've never in my lifetime heard of the Gulf of Mexico "flooding", have you?