Latest Flood Headlines

Floods, Landslides Kill 37 in China

Jul 21 2010 // Rescuers in China were searching Tuesday for 30 people buried in landslides as flood waters from days of heavy rain surged past the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest. Soldiers used bulldozers to plow through...

Connecticut to Buy, Then Demolish Flood-Prone Properties

Jul 19 2010 // The federal government has approved a grant of nearly $1.4 million for the state of Connecticut to buy and then demolish five flood-prone properties in East Haven. Demolishing the properties is intended to reduce or...

China Braces for Typhoon Conson; Vietnam Evacuates Thousands

Jul 16 2010 // Southern China on Friday battened down to await the arrival of Typhoon Conson, gathering strength over the South China Sea, and Vietnam deployed nearly 3,000 troops to areas in the path of the storm. Swollen rivers and...

Agents Applaud House Passage of Flood Insurance Program Extension

Jul 16 2010 // The U.S. House of Representatives has a measure extending the federal flood insurance program for five years. The bill, H.R. 5114, the “Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 2010,” sponsored by Rep. Maxine...

Lawsuit in Florida Targets Flood Insurance As Danger to Sea Turtles

Jul 15 2010 // The National Wildife Federation claims in a lawsuit that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood insurance program is hurting sea turtles by spurring coastal development. The lawsuit filed in Miami federal...

House May Vote on Federal Flood Insurance Extension Today

Jul 15 2010 // Insurers are urging the House of Representatives to pass legislation today that would extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years. The measure, HR 5114, the “Flood Insurance Reform and...

First Half 2010 Catastrophe Losses Double Average at $22 Billion

Jul 8 2010 // A report from Munich Re (www.munichre.com) notes that the first half of 2010 was “marked by an exceptionally large number of natural catastrophes and the scale of the losses they caused.” The reinsurer recorded...

Insurance Covers Repairs to Nashville Public Works Hit by Floods

Jul 8 2010 // Local taxpayers in Nashville will largely be off the hook for the costs of repairing public facilities damaged by severe flooding in May. The Tennessean quoted Metro Nashville Finance Director Rich Riebeling, who said the...

Few Iowa Communities Join Flood Insurance Program

Jul 8 2010 // Officials say just 18 cities and counties in Iowa have enrolled in the National Flood Insurance Program since the floods of 2008. Those that participate must agree to adopt and enforce flood plain management ordinances to...

Connecticut to Buy Then Demolish Flood-Prone Properties in East Haven

Jul 7 2010 // The federal government has approved a grant of nearly $1.4 million for the state of Connecticut to buy and then demolish five flood-prone properties in East Haven. Demolishing the properties is intended to reduce or...

Not All Tennessee Flood Victims Are in Nashville

Jul 7 2010 // Far from the spotlight shining on the Nashville victims of May’s deadly floods, Mike Anglin looks at the now-empty space next to Indian Creek where his doublewide mobile home stood and wonders how he will replace...

Midwest States Grapple with Levee Problems, Flood Insurance

Jul 5 2010 // A group scrambling to upgrade Mississippi River levees in southwestern Illinois before new floodplain maps potentially raise insurance costs said it can make the fixes for $160 million to $170 million – and pay for...

FEMA: States Need Time to Review Flood Map

Jul 5 2010 // After facing strong opposition during a public meeting in Arkansas, a top federal official wants to give cities and towns in the Mississippi Delta more time to review maps that outline where flood insurance would be...

Jul 5 2010 // Congress’s inability to act leaves many in flood prone areas vulnerable – for the second time this year and the fourth in 12 months’ time. When it rains it pours, as the saying goes. By extension, one...

Flood Insurance Program Back in Business Until Sept. 30

Jul 1 2010 // The U.S. Senate last night approved a temporary reauthorization of the federal flood insurance program until Sept. 30. The reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is retroactive to June 1, the date...

If Today’s Bid Fails, Next Likely Vote to Restart Flood Insurance: July 12

Jun 30 2010 // The future of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) remains in limbo even as Hurricane Alex makes its way to the Texas coast today. Washington lobbyists say a vote could come today but if that doesn’t happen it...

Surplus Line Association of Wash. Administers Flood Insurance Program

Jun 29 2010 // Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler and more than two dozen insurance companies have launched a new program to help Green River Valley businesses struggling to find flood coverage. The “Washington...

As Alex Looms, Texans Wait for Decision on Flood Insurance

Jun 28 2010 // With Tropical Storm Alex skirting the east coast of Mexico and heading north, if residents along the Texas Gulf Coast are thinking it’s a good time to purchase flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance...

FEMA: Arkansas, Other Delta States Need Time to Review Flood Map

Jun 24 2010 // After facing strong opposition during a public meeting in Arkansas, a top federal official wants to give cities and towns in the Mississippi Delta more time to review maps that outline where flood insurance would be...

ABI ‘Applauds’ UK’s Budget Austerity; Will Help Insurers to Compete

Jun 23 2010 // Chancellor George Osborne’s budget proposals, featuring spending cuts and new taxes, has received mostly a thumbs up from the Association of British Insurers. Commenting on the measures, Kerrie Kelly, the ABI’s...