flood damage News

Ida v. Katrina in New Orleans: Fewer People, Better Levees, Smaller Storm Surge

Hurricane Ida and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 made landfall within 50 miles of one other and each carried 150 mph winds at one point, but the amount of death and destruction caused by the two storms was vastly different because …

Houston Area Getting Little of $1B in Harvey Flood Aid

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston area officials expressed shock and anger on Friday after learning that their communities, which suffered the brunt of damage from Hurricane Harvey, would be getting only a small part of the $1 billion that Texas is …

Flooding Due to Climate Change Caused $75 Billion of Damage in the U.S.

It’s long been established that warming temperatures cause more frequent and intense precipitation. But placing a dollar value on the contribution of climate change to storm damage has been tricky. Now, Stanford University researchers have determined that a third of …

Government Ordered to Pay Landowners on Lower Missouri River

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The federal government must pay some landowners along the lower Missouri River for flooding damage caused by changes the Army Corps of Engineers made to the river to protect endangered species, a judge has ruled. The …

Lexington Insurance Wins Texas Battle of Hurricane Harvey Deductibles

In a case of competing deductibles, a federal appeals court has sided with an insurer and against the owner of two Houston office buildings, holding that a larger windstorm deductible applied to flood damage caused by Hurricane Harvey rather than …

How Draining the Reservoir Can Help Mitigate Flooding

Persistent rains have been pounding the Southeast, and a week ago, the Pearl River in Jackson, Mississippi, spilled over its banks, submerging a dozen city blocks in several feet of water. The river had crested at 36.7 feet—its third-highest level …

NOAA Study Says ‘Atmospheric Rivers’ Cause 84% of Flood Damage in the West

Climate change is spurring a new, deep dive into a complex, little-studied weather system blamed for creating billions of dollars in flood damage across the western U.S. Atmospheric rivers are narrow ribbons of concentrated moisture that originate in the Pacific …

Hurricane Victims Frustrated with Slow Housing Recovery

SPRING LAKE, N.C. — The heating and air conditioning in Carrie Johnson’s home — damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 — still wasn’t fixed when Hurricane Florence flooded her house last September. Now, her home of over 50 years is …

Manufacturer’s Flood Claim Hinges on Definition of High-Hazard Area

For the second time, a federal appellate court reversed a trial judge’s finding that a policy issued by a unit of American International Group did not limit coverage for a 2011 flood that forced the company to shut down an …

Homes to be Raised, but it’s Uncertain who will Pay the Bill

BELLEVUE, Neb. — A suburb of Omaha has condemned 195 flood-damaged homes, but it’s unclear who will be paying the expected bill of more than $1 million to raze them. The Bellevue City Council decided Tuesday that the mobile and …