Flooding Downstream Who is Responsible?

2019 has seen alot of flooding across the country. So much rainfall has fallen in certain areas that there just isn't anywhere for the water to go. So hard decisions are having to be made like spillways and dams being opened up flooding people down stream.

Areas like the Mississippi and Missouri rivers have shown us that hard decisions have to be made when there is no where for the water to go. Sometimes spillways have to be opened up or dams have to release more water downstream than they want. This is exactly what happened in areas like Fort Smith Arkansas, Tulsa Oklahoma and on Lake Keystone in Oklahoma. So what happens?

Well when this water was released downstream properties and lives can be lost, so who is responsible for the damage? Well if you have flood insurance the damages should be covered if either 2 acres is flooded or more than 2 properties. If you don't have flood insurance then you might be able to get disaster assistance if a presidential declaration is filed. However areas like Centre Alabama showed us earlier this year sometimes there just isn't enough disaster assistance. This area had about 25 property owners get flooded with only $5000 in disaster assistance available.

When living in areas like this that are downstream from dams its important to keep your flood insurance active at all times, especially with all the climate change going on. Its also important to understand how your communities dam maintenance can impact local flood insurance rates.

So maybe your property was recently flooded from a spillway or dam being opened and you want to know what your options are? Please visit our website Flood Insurance Guru. You can also find our daily flood education videos on our YouTube channel and facebook page.