I like your post
From personal close family experience, considering it's a government agency, FEMA does try hard to prevent fraud. Actually in the cases I knew it was pretty impressive.
More on hurricane Helene
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From personal close family experience, considering it's a government agency, FEMA does try hard to prevent fraud. Actually in the cases I knew it was pretty impressive.
I live in the Asheville area hit by this storm. We got 5-6" of rain Wed & Thursday before the storm hit early Friday morning , with and additional 6+ inches from the storm. Then the wind gusts hit taking about 10 BIG tresses down in my back yard. Fortunately they all fell away from house. My neighbors weren't as fortunate. A week later & we still have many tress on houses. Flooding came so fast ( in about 30 mins) or less at a level exceeding anything since recording started. Then the storm stalled over WNC, dumping LARGE amounts of rain. I've heard some areas got 29 inches from Wed to Friday. That's unreal for the mountains. Water ran so fast off the mountains from (up to 5000 ft +) down to 2000 or 1000 ft, that complete towns were washed away. We have 2 major Interstates, I-40 & I-26, both are closed due to being washed away. It's been estimated that I-40 won't open again. Till 2028. I've live here for over 60 years & have never seen this much damage,wind & water, during that time and as quick as it happened. Unbelievable. As far as flood insurance, it wasn't until about 15 years ago that they identified the 100, 200 & 500 year flood zones. They never ID'd a 1000 year flood zone. Even in a 500 year zone the insurance on a home went up from $500 a year to over $4000 a year.(15 years ago). I live in a no flood zone & my Erie policy specifically states 'doesn't cover flooding. I live within 2-3 miles of the power plant & just got water & power last night. Still thousands without both. And we're in a relatively safe area as compared to the areas not far from rivers.
They have referred to this flooding as at "Biblical Portions", never heard of before. Much worse that Katrina. Prayers requested & needed.
They have referred to this flooding as at "Biblical Portions", never heard of before. Much worse that Katrina. Prayers requested & needed.
Owen Lucas
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It's here and more of it is coming.
Reinsurance companies, those that insure the insurers, have supposedly (I can't find the industry article right now) been spreading the risk of wildfires and hurricanes across policies beyond those areas that are affected. Increases in policies have already been blamed on this practice.
More to come too:
https://www.newsweek.com/florida-insurance-crisis-federal-risk-1961767
Florida might end up being even more uninsurable than it is now and this could spread to other states when the insurance companies just start cherry picking profitable zones. At the end of the day it is every man for himself, government intervention will be helpful but slow and incomplete. As many have said, it's not a panacea.
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Appalachia homes and towns are tucked into the spaces tucked between mountain ridges. Locals call them "hollers". Its these "hollers" that were devastated by Helene.
Never heard of a holler.
Never heard of a holler.
Disasters always hit the most vulnerable hardest. They have fewer, or even no, resources.
Owen Lucas
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So resources from wealthy neighborhoods should be diverted to poor neighborhoods? Or should everyone be treated equally? When your property is destroyed, everyone is in need of the same help immediately.
No, especially when there is an area so far inland. In FL, for instance, a hurricane is just a thing. Things are built and systems are designed for those conditions. In the Asheville suburbs, and surrounding towns no.
This, like many things are held up to defining the definition of a word. Technically, when the storm reached the area, it was not even a hurricane, and in fact, Asheville started to flood before Hurricane Helene even made landfall in Florida, a little known fact.
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^I agree with this post. My wife and I currently live Greensboro NC but have traveled to Asheville many times to visit family or just hang out, it's a beautiful place. The current situation is one of the few times I don't blame the residents for not having flood insurance. This whole situation a was freak occurrence, imo. I don't think anyone ever imagined this could happen there, so far from the coast and inland. I sure didn't. The one good thing is that it being very close an election I suspect they will get an incredible amount of help to rebuild. Nonetheless, I told my wife recently 'I doubt we'll be visiting Asheville again for at least a year', which is just crazy to me. And I don't mean we wont be visiting because I don't want to, I mean because so much is impassable. It's gonna take a Herculian effort just to get things opened up for vehicles.
Hoping for the best for everyone there.
Comes right back to US in arms sales. And you have a problem with this?
Ya. It's absurd.
Owen Lucas
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If the gov't doles out cash to foreign countries in the blink of an eye but whines about not having enough funding on TV, you think that's fair?
I don't blame the migrants for coming here. For those from Cuba, Haiti, Venzuela, Congo etc who wouldn't want free housing, phones, food, healthcare, spending cash etc?
The absurd part is why place the US in this predicament and then go on TV and complain about funding. It doesn't give the appearance of taking care of your citizens first, even if there was a separate funding bill. There's never enough money for the Americans who need it (Veterans benefits, social security, homeless) but when the unwashed masses pay cartels to get smuggled into the country there are freebies and programs everywhere.
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I can't help it if you don't understand how finding the government works and I have neither the time nor desire to explain it.
Owen Lucas
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My issue is Americans first, that's the funding that should be prioritized even before hurricane season.
Who cares how complicated it is or how it works, we fund useless crap and foreign interests all the time, lets take care of our own lol.
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Correct.
I am LUCKY enough to have enough food and water and weapons on hand to last for quite sometime..........BUT............wash it all away in a 1000 year storm ,and that plan is dead. What is Plan B?
Plan B should be help from those willing.
That is what these people are going through. Big deal.......might just be the biggest deal, even shadowing Katrina, and lets not forget, this is two states away from the coast.
I think the toll dead will be in the 1000's of people, from my local sources here.
Here is a short video on some locals opening a bridge - county employees on one side, residents on the other.
This is how it works. FEMA doesn't do this sort of work. Often the state isn't much help either. They may help rebuild after the fact, but in real time you can only rely on yourself and your neighbors.
This is how it works. FEMA doesn't do this sort of work. Often the state isn't much help either. They may help rebuild after the fact, but in real time you can only rely on yourself and your neighbors.
I will ask my daughter about the reinsurance. She has a portfolio in the billions for reinsurance at a major US insurance company. Remember reinsurance covers above what the insurance agrees to cover. (example) So the insurance company might cover the first billion in claims and after that the reinsurance kicks in. Only $900 million in claims and reinsurance pays nothing.
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