A quick blog posts for those residents of Florida who have been enjoying state-enabled discounts for storm-preparedness: get them while you can as they might not be around much longer.
“What we’re giving them now is not right,” Apopka State Representative Bryan Nelson (R) said.
Nelson is both a lawmaker and an insurance agent. He said those discounts need to be cut so inland homeowners can stop subsidizing premiums for coastal homeowners.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a governmental agency focused on monitoring the ocean and atmosphere throughout the year, has released its 2009 figures for what it expects to see this hurricane season:
While this might not seem like much, it is a more positive outlook than we saw last year. In last year’s predictions, there was a 65% prediction of more hurricanes than normal, as compared to 25% this year. As such, the Gulf Coast region may get a calm this season which would be a very welcome reality given the past decade and the amount of devastating storms that came through recently.
For tips on how to prepare for hurricane season, check out our section on hurricane and storm tips found here.
Catching up on June happenings, it is important for those individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina to know that the timeline in which they may file for claims involving damage from the epic storm has been reset.
From NOLA.com
The class action allegations against insurers in the consolidated levee breach litigation have been dismissed, restarting the clock for anyone who is dissatisfied with the results of their Katrina claim and allowing them to file a lawsuit against their insurer nearly four years after the storm.
As a heartening sign that lessons of the past have been learned, one city’s government has published a hurricane preparedness guide that is a solid tool for anyone in the Gulf Coast region to utilize.
Available off of their website, the City of Boynton Beach has published a PDF that walks users through how to be best prepared in the event of a storm. As they put it
The best way to cope with a hurricane is to prepare a plan in advance. The 2009 Hurricane Preparedness Guide is a compilation of the best advice from experts at the City of Boynton Beach, the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other knowledgeable sources. It was written specifically for residents of Boynton Beach and contains important telephone numbers and locations of Publix stores and gasoline service stations with generators
FEMA recently came out to publicly encourage residents of Florida and the Gulf Coast to get flood coverage, regardless of how susceptible to risk they may be. In doing this, the government is bringing more attention to the need for proper insurance policies and to prevent having to help out thousands of people who thought it ‘could never happen to them.’
Matt Gilmour of the Tallahassee Democrat highlights this important step on the part of FEMA
With hurricane season under way, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reminding Florida residents about the importance of flood insurance, even if they don’t live in high-risk areas.
On the campus of the University of Houston, a new storm preparation center will work to educate students and area locals on the effects and dangers of hurricanes while developing technology to predict and innovate protection against such storms. Justin Horne of KIAH reports
The Texas Hurricane Center for innovative technology was developed last year at the University of Houston. The center was created with ideas, in mind, to combat the effects of hurricane season. And now researchers are ready to make these ideas a reality.
Dr. Vipulanandan, a civil engineering professor at the University of Houston, has been working with his engineering students to develop this technology.
With hurricane season in full swing, it is important for home and property owners to be fully aware and clear about their insurance and coverage, or lack thereof, that it provides. Whether living in a flood plain or tucked safely in a non-flooding area, residents of the Gulf Coast can be affected all the same by a hurricane by the list of dangers such as wind or rain damage. Going through your policy and making sure the proper cover necessary to properly rebuild in the event of storm damage is there will help prevent nasty surprises should the unthinkable happen and serious destruction befalls you.
Tim Engstrom from Southwest Florida’s News-Press has more
Most homeowners – especially those outside high-hazard coastal zones – can find coverage, but it is likely to be with a newer, less-familiar company, said Randy Duncan, an agent with the Insurance Depot of Lee County in Cape Coral.
In an article by Kristy Eppley Rupon of The State regarding insurance policies along the Eastern coast, a new act by South Carolina’s government has helped quell fears of insurance company lockouts and helped residents secure policies where they may not have otherwise. The legislative act shows there may be some innovation in the Gulf Coast region to keep insurers from leaving like they have threatened to, or have, in other states.
Insurers started dropping policies in late 2006, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast. They were worried about surviving another catastrophic hit.
That put many coastal homeowners in a bind and left state governments scrambling to come up with a solution.
While catching up on some hurricane news for the Gulf Coast region from June, we came across this story about relief fraud in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
A federal grand jury in Atlanta has accused four people of fraudulently obtaining tens of thousands of dollars in government assistance for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that 37-year-old Kristine Clark and 24-year-old Michael Rouzan, both of Decatur, Ga., were charged in one indictment, and 26-year-old Markisha Burks of Dallas and 43-year-old Lucien Danthon of Atlanta were named in separate indictments accusing them of falsely claiming they resided in New Orleans at the time of the 2005 storm.
Per The Times-Picayune
Newly revised Preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps showing the potential for flooding caused by a 100-year rainfall and hurricane-strength surge for New Orleans will be available for review and discussion at a Wednesday open house in City Park.
The event will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Pavilion of the Two Sisters in the City Park Botanical Gardens on Victory Drive.
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