"As the Tropical Storm Harvey continues to inundate Texas, here is some timely information on federal flood insurance that can help inform your ongoing coverage.
While now is the time for the first responders to protect public safety, we also hope this event prompts Congress to take action to reform the NFIP. The NFIP is designed to help people living in flood-prone areas get flood insurance, and is administered by FEMA.
• There are roughly 400,000 NFIP policyholders within the 18 Texas counties that are included in President Trump's Disaster Declaration. This serves as an indicator of the impact of Hurricane Harvey to the National Flood Insurance Program.
• Of the combined population of the 18 Texas counties included in the Disaster Declaration, just 16 percent are NFIP policyholders.
• There are more than 1,400 schools located within the 18 counties that are included in the Disaster Declaration, representing more than 1 million students. Harris County, which includes Houston, accounts for more than 1,000 schools and 850,000 students.
• More than 3,100 critical facilities — schools, fire and police stations, medical facilities — are located within counties facing major flooding levels.
• Though it’s too early to determine the full extent of damage and costs, a point of comparison are two previous tropical events that made landfall in Texas and caused a significant number of NFIP claims. Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 cost the NFIP $1.1 billion and Hurricane Ike in 2008 cost the NFIP $2.7 billion.
• Already this year, there have been 39 federal disaster declarations, of which 28 involve flooding.
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ flood-prepared communities initiative looks at federal flood insurance reform and how it will be impacted by Hurricane Harvey and the ongoing flooding. The project also is working with Congress on federal reform of disaster relief programs and flood insurance, and strong infrastructure investment to encourage better risk planning and preparation at the federal and state level."
The Pew NFIP Project Director, Laura Lightbody is leading their efforts.
