As hurricane season nears, officials urge preparedness

May 07--Hurricane season starts in less than a month, and officials say now is the time to get ready.

"Last year, hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Nate proved again that the entire Gulf Coast is at risk from storms and that several hurricanes can strike in a single season," Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center, said in a news release. "Don't wait for a hurricane to be on your doorstep to make a preparedness plan, by then it may be too late. Take the time now to get prepared for the season ahead."

Graham and other weather experts are touring five U.S. Gulf Coast cities to raise awareness during National Hurricane Preparedness Week, which starts today. Stops include one Tuesday in Baton Rouge, where residents can tour a NOAA Hurricane Hunter airplane from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Baton Rouge Airport's multiplex building, 4400 Airpark Blvd.

FEMA, meanwhile, is encouraging residents who have not done so already to buy flood insurance.

"A flood insurance policy generally takes effect 30 days after purchase, and homeowners' and renters' insurance do not typically cover flood damage," the agency says in a news release.

More than half of the thousands of homes and businesses damaged by the August 2016 floods in Louisiana were in moderate- and low-risk areas, FEMA officials said, and most lacked coverage. The National Flood Insurance Program disbursed more than $2.4 billion to Louisiana policyholders for the disaster, with an average payment of more than $90,000.

Homes in high-risk areas have at least a one-in-four chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage, the agency notes.

Local officials have long advised everyone in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes to obtain flood insurance -- regardless of whether your lender says you need it -- because of the significant risk of flooding from rain, tides and Gulf of Mexico storms.

An analysis by the Louisiana Insurance Commissioner's Office last year showed about a third of homes in the two parishes had flood insurance in 2016, a figure that declined slightly over the previous two years.

About seven of every eight homes in the two parishes are at risk of being damaged by hurricane storm surges, according to an annual report released at the start of last year's hurricane season. CoreLogic, global property research company, found that 70,738 local homes are at risk of flooding from hurricane storm surges. Combined, the homes would cost an estimated $13 billion to rebuild.

"Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States, and it can occur almost anywhere -- not just in high-risk areas," FEMA says. "On average, 25 to 30 percent of all flood claims paid by NFIP are for properties outside high-risk flood areas."

Hurricane season runs June 1 through Nov. 30.

-- Executive Editor Keith Magill can be reached at 857-2201 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @CourierEditor.

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