The Federal Emergency Management Agency says residents of the state need the coverage ahead of El Nino this winter.
Officials from FEMA have been urging residents of California to buy flood insurance to cover their homes against damage from rising waters that are very likely in some areas this winter as it is predicted that there will be a strong El Nino.
FEMA is advising Californians to purchase these policies regardless of whether they are in the highest risk areas.
In fact, the recommendation for purchasing flood insurance has been extended to people who live in low or moderate risk of flooding, as well. The rains from El Nino are expected to be quite drenching, this year and have been predicted to start in just over a month from now. As many policies don’t become effective until thirty days after they are purchased, people in California are being told to act sooner rather than later.
Officials say that now is the best time to purchase coverage for those who don’t already have a flood insurance policy.
According to the deputy associate administrator for insurance and mitigation at FEMA, Roy Wright, “If there was ever a time to buy flood insurance, this is the time.” He also added that “You cannot get it at the last minute. There’s a 30-day wait period for new flood insurance policies to go into effect.”
Usually, only about one in three to one in two people who live within flood risk areas in the United States are covered by flood policies, said Wright. The average homeowners insurance policy does not cover damage from rising waters.
The government has created a website to make it easier for Californians to be able to determine their own flood risk, as well as to learn information about flood insurance so that they will be informed when they make their purchase. It is located at FloodSmart.gov. This coverage has been deemed more of a priority as the forecasts are all starting to suggest that El Nino will have the potential to bring some damaging winter weather through heavy rains, this year. It is expected that waters could rise overland and that mudslides could come with their own destruction.
