Hurricane Ida recently made landfall on Louisiana with catastrophic winds of 150 mph. Ida was initially a tropical cyclone as it makes its way through Cuba last Friday, August 27. However, Ida immediately escalated to a Category-4 hurricane as it travels across the Gulf of Mexico and bound to Louisiana. As soon as Hurricane Ida made landfall, there was an immediate drop in temperatures, storms, and heavy rain was dumped on Louisiana, and communities were left without power.

How Climate Change Makes Hurricanes Worse

Today, we want to talk about how hurricanes like Ida are impacted by climate change and what it's changing flood insurance.

Climate Change

It's important to note that climate change impacts how extreme weather events can become. We were able to discuss this on our previous blog which you can read by clicking here.

This devastating climate event is also changing how what was used to be minor hurricanes, now becoming more catastrophic and overnight tropical storms can transform into major hurricanes as we've seen with Ida. Generally, this is due to how it's directly impacting the weather, overall sea level, and surface temperatures of water from our oceans.

In 2019, Hurricane Dorian hit the country with the second strongest landfall with 185 mph. In 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall at 180 mph and Hurricane Maria also had 165 mph when the hurricane made landfall in the same year. This is generally due to rising ocean temperatures that fuel stronger North Atlantic Hurricanes.

How Climate Change Makes Hurricanes Worse

You see, as our climate becomes warmer, minor tropical storms also get powered by this heat and you can even say that it's like turning it up to eleven. Additionally, warmer waters also create more frequent and consistent heavy rainfall as water vapor is easily condensing into rain clouds due to that extra heat. As we've seen just this year, heavier rainfall and torrential rains can easily create devastating floods.

Earlier this year, we've seen areas like Baton Rouge in Louisiana, Nashville and Waverly in Tennessee, Monett in Missouri, and multiple areas in Alabama get about 7 to 15 inches of rain at a given time only to cause massive flooding and, at most time, deadly flash floods in these areas. 

How Climate Change Makes Hurricanes Worse

Flood Insurance Impacts

When it comes to flood insurance, especially federal flood insurance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), these types of considerations aren't made until the coming Fall season this year.

in the current version of the NFIP, one of the big determiners of flood risk and rates are mostly things such as flood zones, elevation, and history of flood data like claims. Honestly, this doesn't really address the actual flood risks of property owners and the overall population. Let's say that Property Owner A is not in a flood zone and Property Owner B is in a flood zone.

This creates a massive confusion between these two property owners as the former would not get insurance thinking that they won't need it "because they're not in a high-risk flood zone". However, we have proven true that these zone designations will never represent the overall flood risk of a property.

You can be outside of a flood zone, but if global warming suddenly melts all the snow from winter and starts to oversaturate the ground, rainwater will have nowhere to go other than these low-lying areas. Even small amounts of rain in given this type of situation, that water from precipitation — heavy precipitation or otherwise — can be enough to cause floods.

Sometimes since these floods have strong currents due to it naturally wanting to flow into low-lying areas, the flood damage is all increased significantly. Yes, even low-risk flood zones will be impacted.

The NFIP Risk Rating 2.0

This changes with the new Risk Rating 2.0 program which measures flood insurance rates based on the flood risk score. The Risk Rating 2.0 will easily measure how these types of flood risks from the ever-changing climate since it will start to look into the types of floods your property is receiving, how frequent floods happen in your area, and distance to any body of water.

The Risk Rating 2.0 program will also focus on flood insurance data that your property has when it comes to determining your rates or premiums. All of these will fall into what's called a flood risk score. Here are the things that are staying the same and the new things that will determine your rates with FEMA and NFIP:

Things that are staying the same:

The new things that will come with the Risk Rating 2.0 are as follows:

  • Types of floods that your property experience. This can be either a pluvial flood, fluvial flood, and coastal flood.
  • First-floor height and elevation of the structure. A new feature that determines your flood risk score is the distance between the ground (grade) from your first floor or the first habitable floor of your property.
  • Flood Risk Mitigation Measures made on the property. Is the lowest floor above the base flood elevation? Are there enough flood openings to let floodwaters through?

How Climate Change Makes Hurricanes Worse

The impacts of climate change are something that we will never control and is already irreversible. However, we shouldn't focus on the things outside of our control, but on the things that we have power on such as preparing ourselves from these impacts on floods, tornadoes, tide storm, storm surge, hurricane strength by protecting ourselves from these impacts.

If you want to know more on how to get flood insurance, what is the Risk Rating 2.0, what your flood risk score is, click below to reach out.

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Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation which lets us help you flood risks, your flood insurance, and mitigating your property long-term.

The week of May 17 seems to be the wick that will start the upcoming storm season numerous flooding are happening due to a low-pressure system going across the country. Missouri seems to follow Texas and Louisiana in those who are experiencing these major spring floodings.

The Flood Insurance Guru | Blog | Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Monett Missouri Flood

We want to focus today on what happened with this recent flooding that happened earlier today, what caused it, and how this can impact your flood insurance.

Flooding in the Ozarks

After heavy amounts of rainfall, Monett, Aurora, and other parts of the Ozarks faced floodings and most of the affected areas were immediately inundated with water even before the morning of May 18th arrived.

About 4 to 8 inches of rain were dumped in about six hours which started these floodings. One of the reasons why the flooding was so big was because there's a lot of spring runoff happening at this time of year. Immediately, the Monett Professional Firefighters issued flash flood warnings. 

The Flood Insurance Guru | Blog | Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Monett Missouri Flood

There were a lot of people needing rescues from being trapped in floodwater for various reasons such as people driving into these standing water and respond to a motor vehicle that was caused by the flooding. Although no official data had been released yet on the flooding, it's important to note that this may extend until tomorrow morning as we've seen in other parts of the country.

In these times, we want to make sure that everything that our properties have enough protection from flood damage.

Missouri Flood Insurance

Filing a Flood Claim

The Flood Insurance Guru | Blog | Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Monett Missouri Flood

Before you file that flood claim, we want you to hold back for it and consider what this flood claim can mean for your property's overall value and how your flood insurance will look like in the future.

Since flood claims stay with the whole life of the property, this means it doesn't really matter who owns it. All of the records that the property has when it comes to its flood history will stay. Considering how Missouri and Monett have been through flooding in recent years, whatever flood claim is in the property, it's still there by the time you file for the flood claim for the flooding that's happening this week.

The Flood Insurance Guru | Blog | Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Monett Missouri Flood

We want to make sure that you strategize first with your insurance agent on filing this flood claim. Generally, if the damages are less than $10,000 and you should pay the needed coverages out of your own wallet. This is because if you were to file more than one flood insurance claim in the last ten years, your property's going to be listed in the repetitive loss (RL) list.

Repetitive loss can cause your flood insurance rate to drastically increase especially if you won't be able to meet the strict flood mitigation efforts that are set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). When it comes to the availability of private flood insurance, properties in the repetitive loss list are very likely to not get a policy written from private insurers.

The Flood Insurance Guru | Blog | Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Monett Missouri Flood

The resell value of the house or the property will also be hurt by this RL listing. Since flood claims and repetitive loss generally indicate that the property had experienced flooding and is recorded to have had a lot of flood loss in recent years, buyers are most likely to avoid buying the property. You also have to consider that flood insurance availability is limited wherein private flood might not be available and the only option left is federal flood insurance which has very expensive premiums.

Loss Avoidance

As we face this constant threat of flooding in Monett and other parts of Ozarks, it's best to have the proper preparation against all possible flood damage and flood loss. This is where the coverage that most policyholders miss out on can kick in: loss avoidance.

Loss avoidance provides homeowners up to $1000 for reducing the impact of a flood on their property. This includes paying for sandbags, filling for temporary levees, plastic sheets and lumber, and even the labor that goes into the process.

The Flood Insurance Guru | Blog | Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Monett Missouri Flood

This is the best answer that you may get before a flood even hits your home and it can be easy to get since there's already flood warnings everywhere — a prerequisite in order to avail this coverage. This coverage also won't ask you to pay a deductible.

Flood Insurance Options

When it comes to where you can get flood insurance, you have two options here: federal flood insurance and the private market.

The NFIP

Since Missouri and the Ozarks is a participating community, you can get your flood policy from FEMA through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Other than being able to get federal flood insurance, disaster aid, and disaster grants, a participating community can get discounts on flood insurance premiums of up to 40% depending on your Community Rating System (CRS) score. Considering that Missouri's flood insurance rates average at around $1000, this can go down to an average $600 premium.

The Flood Insurance Guru | Blog | Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Monett Missouri Flood

The NFIP provides coverage on buildings or property that maxes at $250,000 and $100,000 maximum for contents or items inside the listed property. Federal flood insurance won't be able to get you coverages for additional living expenses, replacement costs, and loss of use. Once you get a policy with the NFIP, you have to follow the 30-day waiting period before the flood insurance can take effect on your property.

The Private Flood

On the other hand, if the NFIP's flood policy isn't the best one for you and your property, you can always go through the private market and get insured by private carriers or insurers.

Unlike the NFIP, private flood insurance doesn't have a specific maximum amount on the coverages they can provide. This means that your coverages on property and contents can be drastically higher than $250,000 and $100,000. There is also extra coverage like additional living expenses, loss of use, and replacement costs.

The Flood Insurance Guru | Blog | Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Monett Missouri Flood

Once you finished your purchase of flood insurance, private flood policies will only have to take up to 15 days before it takes effect on the property. Some carriers will also be able to write you a policy within the day.

The Flood Insurance Guru | Blog | Spring Has Sprung a Leak: Monett Missouri Flood

Since we're already going deeper into the stormy season, we'd best make sure that we have everything prepared from protection up to getting back up from the possible damages. Nowadays, I almost get a heart attack whenever someone says they don't need flood insurance since even news in recent times would tell you that flooding can happen any time and be very devastating.

If you have questions on this recent Missouri flooding, how to pick the best flood insurance option, or anything about flood insurance, reach out to us. Remember, we have an educational background in flood mitigation and we want to help protect the value of your property long term through flood education and awareness.

Click the links below to chat with us, get a quote for your flood insurance, and visit our YouTube channel where we post our daily flood education videos.

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