10/03/2024

Thousands of Uninsured Homes were in Helene’s Path

The nation's flood insurance system faces its latest test

In Buncombe County, N.C., where an entire town disappeared beneath floodwaters, less than 1 percent of households had flood insurance. In Unicoi County, Tenn., where dozens of residents were stranded atop a hospital roof as waters rose, it was under 2 percent.

On average, just a tiny fraction of households in the inland counties hit hardest by Hurricane Helene had flood insurance, according to a Washington Post analysis of recent data from the National Flood Insurance Program. Across seven affected states, only 0.8 percent of homes in inland counties affected by the hurricane had flood insurance. By contrast, 21 percent of homes in coastal counties in those areas had coverage.

The Washington Post estimated the share of homes with flood insurance by using policy counts as of Oct. 1 provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and housing unit counts from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.