FLOOD04846

• County: Otero
• Community: La Junta
• Basin: Arkansas
• Title: Local Pre-disaster Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan
• Date: 10/1/1998
• Prepared For: La Junta
• Prepared By: CWCB
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Mitigation/Flood Warning/Watershed Restoration

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times structural activities are the only viable options a community may have because of local
circumstances.

A. Non-Structural Flood Hazard Mitigation in La Junta and Otero County .

Flood Insurance

There are three types of insurance one should investigate in order to reduce uninsured losses
from floods,

National Flood Insurance: This is a federally-subsidized program that is available to any
property owner in a participating community whether or not the structure is located in an
identified flood hazard area on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). Insurance is
sold through private insurance agents. La Junta and Otero County participate in the NFIP.

Sewer Backuo Insurance: This will cover water damage to a structure and contents when
sewer lines back up. It is a commercial insurance policy and details will vary from company to
company.

Sumo Pumo Insurance: Several companies will insure for damages caused if a sump fails,
Check several companies to see if they carry it and what the policy covers,

More about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP): The NFIP is based on an
agreement between local Colorado communities and the federal government. The community
agrees to implement measures to reduce future flood risk to new construction and substantial
improvements in identified Special Flood Hazard Areas as mapped by FEMA on a community's
FIRM. Then, FEMA makes flood insurance available within the community as a financial
protection against flood losses which occur. The insurance is designed to provi~e an
alternative to disaster assistance to meet the escalating costs associated with the repair of
structures and replacement of contents when they are damaged by a flood event. Until the
establishment of the NFIP in 1968, flood insurance was generally unavailable from private
sector insurance companies,

Flood insurance claims information indicates that 35-40"10 of all NFIP claims come
from outside the 1 DO-year floodplain. The 100-year floodplain, as delineated on the
community's FIRM, is the area which the community has agreed to regulate in exchange for
flood insurance availability in the community.

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