Residents of Mississippi are in danger of losing their flood insurance if state legislators do not take action on a particular law. The state was put on notice by the Federal Emergency Management Agency late last week because one of the state’s laws makes hunting and fishing camps exempt from the building codes that govern the flood prone areas of the state. FEMA claims that if the issue is not resolved by May 5th, those receiving coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program will see their policies canceled.
According to the state’s Department of Insurance, more than $18 billion worth of property throughout all of Mississippi is currently covered through the federal program. FEMA has taken a hard stance on its insistence that legislators make changes to the law. Thus far, lawmakers have taken the issue seriously. Some lawmakers are calling the move unfair, but there is little that can be done to fight the federal agency.
Legislators will begin evaluating the issue this week and will likely make changes to the law before FEMA’s deadline. FEMA has said that there will be no exemptions granted to the state for the sake of consumers and is encouraging lawmakers to act quickly. Mississippi sought an exemption for some communities for this very issue last year, but the request was denied by the agency.
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