FLOOD03237 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

III. Last Dollar A report by the U.S. Senate Task Force on Funding Disaster Relief notes that, between fiscal years 1977 and 1993, the federal government spent $64 billion in direct disaster relief and $55 billion indirectly through low-cost loans. In addition, Congress spent nearly $3 billion to cover unmet costs in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In 1995, FEMA's James L. Witt and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin submitted a White House position paper to the House and Senate. It stated that since Hurricane Hugo (September 1989), federal disaster assistance and insurance industry payments have totaled over $67 billion; the federal share was almost $34 billion for emergency assistance and rebuilding. Because of the cumulative effect of seemingly more frequent disasters, the tide is turning. Midwesterners have come to realize that each flooding event leads to distress and costs for residents. It also means response and recovery expenses and lost tax revenues for local, state and federal govern. ments. After the 1993 flood, IJ1anY Missouri communities expressed interest in acquiring repeatedly flooded properties and converting them to permanent open spaces. The beauty of the buyout program is that it's the last dollar spent on a property which is at risk of repeat flooding. There's no more disaster assistance, no more flood-fighting costs. This is especially important for properties which may have repetitive NFIP claims. The Corps of Engineers Flood Plain Management Assessment Report, issued in July 1995, indicates that there are 5,700 repetitively damaged structures in the nine Midwestern states affected by the '93 flood. They further state that 57% of those structures are located in the State of Missouri. Some of these properties have had as many as 23 claims within a 15 year period and, in some cases, the dollar value of the repeat claims have exceeded the market value of the property several times. The buyout serves to minimize abuse and helps maintain the solvency of the National Flood Insurance Program. Local communities find the buyout a permanent, long-term solution to the problem of repeat flooding. The property is deed-restricted to remain in public ownership as open space in perpetuity. It's an opportunity for com- munities to develop park land where frequently destroyed buildings once stood. "The aggressive buyout program has proven it is successful. During the spring and summer 1995 floods. participating buyout communities were able to focus their efforts on the flood response. These commu- nities did not have to use their precious resources on evacuating residents or sandbagging private structures to save private property in the floodplain. Likewise, claims for flood insurance and applica- tions for assistance such as loans with the Small Business Administra- tion or the Individual and Family Grant program were minimized. " -Governor Mel Carnahan "When it comes to buyouts of flooded residential property, Missouri is well in front of the pack of flood-ravaged states. " -Jefferson City News Tribune July 1995 Cedar City a Memory On the north outskirts of town, the Missouri River again had invaded Cedar City. The residents were long gone, the houses vacant. June Sundermeyer, former postmaster of Cedar City, now lives nearby in an immaculate apartment filled with her piano and antique furniture. Sitting on an overstuffed couch, rescued repeatedly from rising water, she said anyone who thinks that the quick succession of floods in 1993 and 1995 was a quirk of nature is ignoring history. She and her late husband, Melvin, moved to Cedar City in 1943 as newlyweds. There was a flood in 1942, two the next year and one in 1944, Sundermeyer said. The couple were forced out of their home by floodwater in 1947, and ,had a major flood four years later. In 1973, Melvin Sundermeyer took his wife to work at the post office in a boat. There was a minor flood in 1983, a major one in 1986 and a smaller one in 1990. Records were set in 1993, "and here we go again," said June Sundermeyer. Sundermeyer finally had enough. "When you're fit to be 78 years old, you'd better get out," she said. -S!. Louis Post-Dispatch May 28, 1995