Environmental Services Division
DNR URGES IOWANS TO CONSIDER THEIR FLOODING RISK DURING MARCH
MEDIA CONTACT: Bill Cappuccio at (515) 281-8942 or [log in to unmask]
DES MOINES – March is Flood Awareness Month, but many people aren’t aware that their homes lie in a floodplain or that they are at risk from flooding.
Tragically, many Iowans learned of their risk last June in the worst possible way when floodwaters topped or breeched levees, or when rivers or streams raged outside their banks.
“Now is the time to assess your home’s risk of flooding and to purchase flood insurance, even in low risk areas” said Bill Cappuccio an engineer in the DNR’s flood plain management program.
He added there is a 30-day waiting period before a policy takes effect, so it’s important to act now, well before spring rains begin.
“Unfortunately, many people have a false sense of security because they believe they are protected by a levee,” he said. “Others may mistakenly think that because their home is elevated above the 100-year flood plain that they have little or no risk of being flooded.”
In fact, living in the 100-year flood plain simply means that there’s a 1 percent chance of being flooded in each and every year. Translate that into the average life of a mortgage, 30 years, it means that there is a one in four chance of a flood occurring during those 30 years.
Plus, floods can and do occur outside of this topographic boundary. In fact, flooding is a part of 90 percent of all natural disasters in the U.S. And, nearly a quarter of all flood insurance claims come from outside high-risk areas.
Most homeowners’ insurance policies do not cover flooding. Often people in high risk areas are required to carry flood insurance while paying on a mortgage. Sometimes as soon as they’ve paid off the mortgage, they drop the flood insurance, thinking that if it hasn’t flooded in 30 years, it’s not going to flood. That’s a gamble where the river holds the cards, said Cappuccio.
Flood insurance premiums vary by the amount of risk in your area, along with the type of ownership.
Check the DNR’s Web site at http://www.iowadnr.gov/water/floodplain/index.html for a fact sheet that can help “Take the Gamble out of Flooding.”
Check the following Web sites to learn more about your risk of flooding and average premium costs:
http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/
http://www.floodsafety.noaa.gov/
http://www.weather.gov/floodsafety/resources/FloodsTheAwesomePower_NSC.pdf
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Karen Grimes
Communications Bureau
Iowa DNR
502 East Ninth Street
Des Moines, IA 50319-0034
(515) 281-5135