The Cost of Floods
Climate change has also contributed to the heavy rains and extreme flooding that several states — including Texas and Louisiana — have experienced in recent years. While some regions across the country are more prone to heavy rains and flooding, climate change only exacerbates the problem, according to researchers at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. Remember: flooding isn’t typically covered in a home insurance policy, so make sure you have the right coverage.
The costs of recent flooding across the U.S., sourced from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, include:
Missouri and Arkansas, May 2017: $1.7 billion
California, February 2017: $1.6 billion
Houston, April 2016: $2.8 billion
Historic flooding in Louisiana in August 2016 destroyed or damaged 100,000 vehicles, 50,000 homes and 20,000 businesses. Over 30,000 people had to be rescued from the catastrophic floodwaters. The total economic losses of these floods were $10.6 billion.