Last Sunday's Sun Journal had an article examining cases of victims of hurricane Irene who "fell through the cracks" in FEMA's flood relief efforts. The stories concerned those whose houses had been flooded during hurricane Isabel and had received flood relief assistance to repair their houses. FEMA had informed them they must get flood insurance or they would not be eligible for repair assistance in the future.
Some blame FEMA for not providing repair assistance to these victims. But the decision doesn't lie with the Federal Emergency Management agency. The policy was set by the US Congress.
Last Friday's New York Times had a very interesting debate by five experts entitled Who Benefits From Federal Flood Aid? The debate examines a number of problems with federal flood aid, including the federal flood insurance program itself.
An underlying assumption of much of the discussion is that people who live in areas prone to flooding are sufficiently wealthy to be able to afford insurance that covers flood damage. Or they shouldn't build there.
But what of the 90 year old widow living on social security in the house she grew up in? Or the minimum wage worker living in manufactured housing in a low cost area? What of a person whose choice is between buying food or paying for flood insurance? A person who lacks the resources to move?
None of the solutions presented in the New York Times debate addresses these questions.
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