Answer a few simple questions about the construction of your home, i.e., “Is it slab on grade?”
Tell it how much coverage you want
Select a deductible
Press a button to get your quote.
The entire process took me less than two minutes. I found that I could get the maximum coverage ($250,000) with the minimum deductible for $887.
How to Act on the Quote
Of course, you don’t buy flood insurance directly from FEMA. You buy it from a flood insurance agent. So before you leave, the tool gives you the option of emailing the FEMA quote to an independent agent through a variety of channels. See below.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Flood Insurance in One Place
This new quote tool is amazingly easy to use. It’s also integrated with other useful information about flooding, ways to reduce your flood risk and obtain insurance. For instance, linked pages contain information about:
Each of the links above has additional links that help you drill down through information and explore ways to save. For instance, the page on Elevation Certificates above has a link to a fact sheet on Why First Floor Height is Important?; how you can modify your property to lower insurance costs; and a checklist about “Ways to Protect Your Home and Pay Less.”
Benefits of Tool and Site
I can see many benefits for FEMA’s new flood-insurance tool and its FloodSmart site. It:
Makes consumers smarter about risk and buying decisions
Saves buyers’ time
Saves agents’ time
Acts as a cross-check against possible mistakes by new agents
Encourages people to buy flood insurance even when they think they may not need it.
To that last point, note that during Hurricane Harvey, more than 154,000 homes in Harris County alone flooded. Of those, 70,370 were outside of the 1% (100-yr) and .2% (500-yr) floodplains. That’s almost half!
Flooded Sculptures, Car, Home during Harvey by Julie Yandell
And that’s not all that unusual. One of the FAQs on FEMA’s site points out that “…from 2014 to 2018, policyholders outside of areas required to carry flood insurance filed over 40 percent of all NFIP flood insurance claims.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/22/24
2642 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMG_0034-e1732307050812.jpg?fit=1100%2C825&ssl=18251100adminadmin2024-11-22 14:29:162024-11-22 14:29:17FEMA Launches New Online Flood-Insurance Quote Tool
11/21/24 – Last week, the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District published a request for qualifications (RFQ) for consultants interested in conducting an alternative water supply feasibility study for Northeast Harris County.
Mike Turco, the District’s general manager, said he is specifically focused on the area east of Lake Houston, which is experiencing tremendous growth. The completion of the Grand Parkway has triggered much of that growth. And with it will come increased water demand, which has the potential to trigger subsidence.
“Alternative Water” Reduces Effects of Subsidence
The District defines “an alternative water supply” as a source that does not trigger subsidence. That most often means a source other than groundwater. Subsidence frequently results from excessive groundwater extraction. That can cause compaction of the earth and a whole range of consequences.
Subsidence can also cause bowls in the landscape that trap water and increase flood risk Subsidence can even change the gradient of streams, slowing water down and backing it up.
An SMU study found that subsidence can cause faulting and damage structures such as homes, roads, pipelines, storm sewers, sanitary sewers and more.
Differential subsidence can create another set of problems altogether. For instance, the rate of subsidence at the Harris/Montgomery county line is much greater than the rate at the Lake Houston Dam.
That has the potential to tilt the lake toward its headwaters. And that could reduce the freeboard factor (feet above flood level) for homes in northern Harris County.
But alternative water sources can reduce all those impacts.
Examples of Alternative Water
In this region, surface water, i.e., from Lake Houston, is the most common “alternative water source,” according to the District’s definition. Lake Houston provides water for more than 2 million people without causing any subsidence.
One example of an alternative water source. Lake Houston from Kingwood’s East End Park. By Dr. Charles Campbell.
So if we already have the major source of water in the area, why look at other alternatives? The planning horizon for water projects is typically 50 years. The RFQ specifically mentions recommendations to meet demand through 2070.
Given expected population growth during that period, the region may need more than Lake Houston. So it behooves us to look at all available alternatives.
According to Turco, right now, the City is already aggressively expanding water distribution from Lake Houston to areas like Spring, which has experienced some of the worst subsidence in the region – 30.5 centimeters, slightly more than a foot since 2007. See below.
Subsidence is widely considered to be irreversible. It’s comforting to know that people are already planning for the welfare of our grandchildren.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/21/24
2641 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Campbell-sunrise-12_3_18-small.jpg?fit=1500%2C1114&ssl=111141500adminadmin2024-11-21 19:58:482024-11-22 11:16:39Subsidence District to Study Alternative Water Supply for NE Harris County
11/20/2024 – The Texas General Land Office (GLO) confirmed funding approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for seven Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) projects.
In June of last year, HCFCD submitted two projects lists to GLO for $825 million in HUD Community Development Block Grant disaster relief (CDBG-DR) funding and flood mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding.
Since then, HCFCD has worked with GLO to finalize the HUD applications. HCFCD presented an update to Commissioner’s Court in early October, 2024. Today, GLO provided an update to the update.
CDBG-DR Projects
According to an email from GLO spokesperson Brittany Eck received today, seven DR projects have received funding approvals to date. They include:
Eck also said that five more CDBG-DR projects are under final quality-control review. “We are making sure the project submissions are complete and meet all federal eligibility requirements so that there are not issues or concerns down the road.”
Disaster Relief projects have the tightest deadlines. So, all parties focused on those first.
CDBG-MIT Funding Still Under Review
“Seventeen CDBG-mitigation projects are still in various stages of preliminary review,” said Eck.
“We are working back and forth on requests for more information required by HUD on many of the projects,” said Eck. “We continue to work very closely with the HCFCD team to make sure they have all available resources needed to complete the applications. Overall our team is very pleased with the progress being made and the relationship continues to be strong.”
Only two mitigation projects have not yet been submitted for preliminary review.
Channel Conveyance Improvements (C147-00-00-E002) in the Sims Bayou Watershed.
Tremendous Progress
“HCFCD has made tremendous progress on these funds,” said Eck. “However, the rate of approval may not yet demonstrate the progress being made behind the scenes.”
She added, “This process, especially considering the amount funds being administered is an extremely lengthy federal process. Additionally HCFCD has needed to combine projects due to functionality and the GLO is working closely with them to ensure eligibility in the most efficient timeframe imaginable.”
Kingwood Projects Not Mentioned in This Update
Eck did not comment on the status of two Kingwood projects. I can only assume they are still under review. She did not mention any that had been eliminated.
Two additional stormwater detention basins upstream from Taylor Gully on Woodridge Village property acquired by HCFCD and the City of Houston.
Woodridge Village detention basin photographed on 10/25/24. Project paused pending outcome of HUD financing approval.
In its October update to Commissioners Court, HCFCD said the Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basins were originally below the funding line for CDBG-DR.
“The original engineering analysis indicated that only Woodridge Basin Compartment 1 was needed for the Taylor Gully mitigation,” said the update. “As the analysis has progressed it indicates that Compartment 2 (or a portion of it) may also be needed. Due to other projects potentially reducing in budget from the initial estimates, there may be funding available to include the Woodridge basin in the Taylor Gully project.”
That word “may” in the last sentence worries me.
HCFCD did not propose the Kingwood Diversion Ditch project for HUD consideration. HCFCD called the diversion ditch one of the two most important projects in Kingwood. That funding will have to come from somewhere else.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/20/24
2640 Days since Hurricane Harvey
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/20241025-DJI_20241025151115_0018_D.jpg?fit=1100%2C619&ssl=16191100adminadmin2024-11-20 18:32:292024-11-20 18:32:31GLO, HUD Funding Approved for 7 HCFCD Projects So Far
FEMA Launches New Online Flood-Insurance Quote Tool
11/22/24 – FEMA has launched a new, online flood-insurance quote tool. You simply:
The entire process took me less than two minutes. I found that I could get the maximum coverage ($250,000) with the minimum deductible for $887.
How to Act on the Quote
Of course, you don’t buy flood insurance directly from FEMA. You buy it from a flood insurance agent. So before you leave, the tool gives you the option of emailing the FEMA quote to an independent agent through a variety of channels. See below.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Flood Insurance in One Place
This new quote tool is amazingly easy to use. It’s also integrated with other useful information about flooding, ways to reduce your flood risk and obtain insurance. For instance, linked pages contain information about:
Buying a Policy
Renewing a Policy
Flood Risks and Costs
Before and After a Flood
Flood Zones and Maps
Get a Quote (The New Tool)
Each of the links above has additional links that help you drill down through information and explore ways to save. For instance, the page on Elevation Certificates above has a link to a fact sheet on Why First Floor Height is Important?; how you can modify your property to lower insurance costs; and a checklist about “Ways to Protect Your Home and Pay Less.”
Benefits of Tool and Site
I can see many benefits for FEMA’s new flood-insurance tool and its FloodSmart site. It:
To that last point, note that during Hurricane Harvey, more than 154,000 homes in Harris County alone flooded. Of those, 70,370 were outside of the 1% (100-yr) and .2% (500-yr) floodplains. That’s almost half!
And that’s not all that unusual. One of the FAQs on FEMA’s site points out that “…from 2014 to 2018, policyholders outside of areas required to carry flood insurance filed over 40 percent of all NFIP flood insurance claims.”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/22/24
2642 Days since Hurricane Harvey
Subsidence District to Study Alternative Water Supply for NE Harris County
11/21/24 – Last week, the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District published a request for qualifications (RFQ) for consultants interested in conducting an alternative water supply feasibility study for Northeast Harris County.
Mike Turco, the District’s general manager, said he is specifically focused on the area east of Lake Houston, which is experiencing tremendous growth. The completion of the Grand Parkway has triggered much of that growth. And with it will come increased water demand, which has the potential to trigger subsidence.
“Alternative Water” Reduces Effects of Subsidence
The District defines “an alternative water supply” as a source that does not trigger subsidence. That most often means a source other than groundwater. Subsidence frequently results from excessive groundwater extraction. That can cause compaction of the earth and a whole range of consequences.
Such compaction caused an entire Baytown subdivision to sink into Galveston Bay.
Subsidence can also cause bowls in the landscape that trap water and increase flood risk Subsidence can even change the gradient of streams, slowing water down and backing it up.
An SMU study found that subsidence can cause faulting and damage structures such as homes, roads, pipelines, storm sewers, sanitary sewers and more.
Differential subsidence can create another set of problems altogether. For instance, the rate of subsidence at the Harris/Montgomery county line is much greater than the rate at the Lake Houston Dam.
That has the potential to tilt the lake toward its headwaters. And that could reduce the freeboard factor (feet above flood level) for homes in northern Harris County.
But alternative water sources can reduce all those impacts.
Examples of Alternative Water
In this region, surface water, i.e., from Lake Houston, is the most common “alternative water source,” according to the District’s definition. Lake Houston provides water for more than 2 million people without causing any subsidence.
So if we already have the major source of water in the area, why look at other alternatives? The planning horizon for water projects is typically 50 years. The RFQ specifically mentions recommendations to meet demand through 2070.
Given expected population growth during that period, the region may need more than Lake Houston. So it behooves us to look at all available alternatives.
According to Turco, right now, the City is already aggressively expanding water distribution from Lake Houston to areas like Spring, which has experienced some of the worst subsidence in the region – 30.5 centimeters, slightly more than a foot since 2007. See below.
The City is also expanding the Northeast Waster Purification Plant and bringing in water from Lake Livingston via the Luce Bayou Inter-basin Transfer Project. But will it be enough to meet demand 50 years from now?
Other alternative sources could conceivably reduce demands on Lake Houston. They include but are not limited to:
For More Information
A District spokesperson said they want to look at all options, costs and timing. To review the RFQ, click here.
For the District’s latest annual report on subsidence, see this six-page executive summary, this 47-page presentation, or the 307-page full report with appendices.
Subsidence is widely considered to be irreversible. It’s comforting to know that people are already planning for the welfare of our grandchildren.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/21/24
2641 Days since Hurricane Harvey
GLO, HUD Funding Approved for 7 HCFCD Projects So Far
11/20/2024 – The Texas General Land Office (GLO) confirmed funding approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for seven Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) projects.
In June of last year, HCFCD submitted two projects lists to GLO for $825 million in HUD Community Development Block Grant disaster relief (CDBG-DR) funding and flood mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding.
Since then, HCFCD has worked with GLO to finalize the HUD applications. HCFCD presented an update to Commissioner’s Court in early October, 2024. Today, GLO provided an update to the update.
CDBG-DR Projects
According to an email from GLO spokesperson Brittany Eck received today, seven DR projects have received funding approvals to date. They include:
Eck also said that five more CDBG-DR projects are under final quality-control review. “We are making sure the project submissions are complete and meet all federal eligibility requirements so that there are not issues or concerns down the road.”
Disaster Relief projects have the tightest deadlines. So, all parties focused on those first.
CDBG-MIT Funding Still Under Review
“Seventeen CDBG-mitigation projects are still in various stages of preliminary review,” said Eck.
“We are working back and forth on requests for more information required by HUD on many of the projects,” said Eck. “We continue to work very closely with the HCFCD team to make sure they have all available resources needed to complete the applications. Overall our team is very pleased with the progress being made and the relationship continues to be strong.”
Only two mitigation projects have not yet been submitted for preliminary review.
Tremendous Progress
“HCFCD has made tremendous progress on these funds,” said Eck. “However, the rate of approval may not yet demonstrate the progress being made behind the scenes.”
She added, “This process, especially considering the amount funds being administered is an extremely lengthy federal process. Additionally HCFCD has needed to combine projects due to functionality and the GLO is working closely with them to ensure eligibility in the most efficient timeframe imaginable.”
Kingwood Projects Not Mentioned in This Update
Eck did not comment on the status of two Kingwood projects. I can only assume they are still under review. She did not mention any that had been eliminated.
The two Kingwood projects:
In its October update to Commissioners Court, HCFCD said the Woodridge Stormwater Detention Basins were originally below the funding line for CDBG-DR.
“The original engineering analysis indicated that only Woodridge Basin Compartment 1 was needed for the Taylor Gully mitigation,” said the update. “As the analysis has progressed it indicates that Compartment 2 (or a portion of it) may also be needed. Due to other projects potentially reducing in budget from the initial estimates, there may be funding available to include the Woodridge basin in the Taylor Gully project.”
That word “may” in the last sentence worries me.
HCFCD did not propose the Kingwood Diversion Ditch project for HUD consideration. HCFCD called the diversion ditch one of the two most important projects in Kingwood. That funding will have to come from somewhere else.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/20/24
2640 Days since Hurricane Harvey