Severe Flooding In The Midwest Causing Widespread Damage
A flurry of major storm systems over the past few weeks have caused widespread flooding along the swollen Mississippi river. Although there was a slight lull in in storm activity late last week, the river remains dangerously high.
The severe flooding has already caused over a billion dollars in estimated damages with the figure expected to rise considerably after all the damage has been tallied. Millions of acres of fertile farmland are underwater and the loss of all the crops are pushing up food prices further in the already inflationary commodities market.
Many families have lost everything by placing their trust in outdated levees certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
After all, local officials had assured townspeople in 1999 that the levee was sturdy enough to withstand a historic flood, and FEMA had agreed. In fact, some relieved homeowners dropped their flood insurance, and others applied for permits to build new houses and businesses.
Then on Tuesday, the worst happened: The levee burst and Gulfport was submerged in 10 feet of water. Only 28 property owners were insured against the damage.
If a levee is certified as being strong enough to withstand a “100 year” flood, the area is not considered a flood plain and property owners are not required to purchase flood insurance in most cases. A recent insurance survey estimated that only 17% of Americans have purchased flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.
Those without flood coverage will have to rely on federal disaster relief assistance in order to help with the rebuilding costs. However, unlike an insurance pay out, the federal aid comes in the form of interest free loans which will eventually need to be repaid.

A number of insurers are cutting back on their wind coverage in states along the Gulf Coast. Most recently,