Storms are getting worse. But some St. Louis-area residents still can’t get flood insurance.

Flooding in Nashville, Illinois

Water and mud coat the floor of Jami Lane’s home in Nashville, Ill., after a nearby creek flooded on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. Lane said the floodwaters reached 3 feet deep on the main floor of the home and had never previously entered the house in her roughly 20 years living there.

NASHVILLE — Many victims of mid-July flash flooding around the St. Louis region are uninsured or under-covered for their damages. And in some of the places hit hardest by the recent floodwaters, federally backed flood insurance is not even available, leaving residents unable to buy the most common, and often most affordable, coverage nationwide.

The absence of those flood insurance options is the result of local elected leaders declining to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, which makes an area eligible for the coverage as long as it adheres to some “flood-smart” rules and conditions, such as refraining from high-risk development in floodplains.

But the lack of such an insurance option in areas like unincorporated parts of Washington County, Illinois — about an hour east of St. Louis — has some residents and flood victims left paying a dear price.

“It does have a consequence,” said Barb Sturner, a spokeswoman for FEMA, which manages the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP. “It’s very unfortunate for people who want to get that coverage and they can’t because their (local) government is not participating.”

Heavy rains on July 16 triggered flash flooding near creeks and streams around the region, swamping surrounding areas, homes and businesses.

Some places — such as Nashville, Illinois, in Washington County — received about 6 inches of rain in several hours, raising local creeks to heights that longtime residents said they’d never seen.

In Nashville, some residents temporarily evacuated after a reservoir overtopped its dam near the edge of town.

Tallies of local damage are still being compiled, said Matt Bierman, director of the Washington County Emergency Management Agency.

But as of last week, he said, 71 properties had reported damage, including severe impacts at about two dozen of them.

Rain, risk and a ‘roller coaster’

And Bierman said “there’s a lot more” property that has been affected, based on the 170-plus kits of cleanup items distributed to local residents so far. (He added that some local recovery efforts in the immediate aftermath of the flood were further complicated by massive flooding at Reliable Carpet Cleaning, a local business with specialized equipment for water damage, such as dehumidifiers.)

Flooding on Interstate 64 near Nashville, Illinois

Floodwater covers eastbound Interstate 64 on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, as cars drive through one-by-one. The interstate is north of an area being evacuated because of a possible dam collapse. Photo courtesy of Christy Jackson

Just beyond Nashville’s city limits, however, unincorporated parts of Washington County — where flooding was also widespread — are now navigating recovery efforts without the help of federal flood insurance coverage.

Even within the city limits, many Nashville residents also don’t have flood insurance — or said they’d been told that it wasn’t available in the entire county, perhaps owing to some confusion.

“Nobody is insured for a flood. So nobody is getting taken care of for anything,” said Jami Lane, whose home near one edge of Nashville was overrun by a nearby stream and whose family of five — plus a cat and dog — is now taking shelter in a camper.

“I’m gutting my whole house,” Lane said. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster.”

Washington County is one of more than a hundred places in Illinois alone that do not participate in the national flood program, making coverage through the federal NFIP unattainable.

Participation carries a range of benefits, said officials at local, state and federal levels of government. The program, some explained, is designed to encourage communities to develop in ways that lessen risks of flood damage over time.

“We need those municipalities to manage their floodplains properly. We can’t just say, ‘Let people build anywhere.’ Not without protection,” said Sturner.

The accompanying availability of flood insurance through the NFIP is cheaper than what the private market offers, others said.

James Sink, a regional flood insurance liaison for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said such policies were about $150 to $200 more expensive per year than NFIP options, based on the latest data from FEMA’s six-state region that includes Illinois.

He said private insurers can also take a “harder stance” on any history of losses at a given property and don’t have some consumer protections offered by the NFIP, such as caps that limit the annual increases of premiums.

Hope for change

State officials, meanwhile, issue annual invitations to holdouts like Washington County, inviting them to join the flood insurance program. Some point out that not participating is increasingly risky as the atmosphere warms, holds more moisture and makes major downpours more common.

“We’re seeing more frequent storms — these intense rainfall events that have big impacts on communities,” said Erin Conley, the NFIP state coordinator for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

In Washington County, local leaders declined to explain why unincorporated parts of the county do not participate.

“I will not make a comment on it because it’s too complex,” said David Meyer, chairman of the Washington County Board. “People get mixed up.”

Local officials said they are in the process of trying to secure a federal disaster declaration for areas affected by the flooding to pave the way for various forms of government aid.

And even if it’s not available to help with the toll of recent flooding, some officials and Washington County residents hope that local leaders will work to make the area eligible for federal flood insurance, moving forward.

“This might be an opportunity now to do that — to show the county that we really need to help these people out,” said Bierman, who has previously pushed for the county’s participation.

Meyer said he’s open to the possibility as well but added that the county would need to properly research the matter. For now, though, he’s glad the area didn’t get even more rain, as some forecasts had called for on the day of the flooding.

“It could’ve been a lot worse,” he said. “We’re just happy we made it through.”

How much rain fell in St. Louis on Tuesday? These charts tell the story.

Based on MSD data (covering only Missouri), for the area around Benton Park, as well as the area east of Telegraph Road at I-255, Tuesday's rain was a 100-year event.

Flooding leaves Warren County town caked in mud as residents work to save homes, businesses

Treloar, a tiny burg in southern Warren County 70 miles west of St. Louis, was hard hit by flash flooding as 6 inches of rain fell within 90 minutes.

Tornadoes touched down in Warren, Jefferson counties in Tuesday's storms

The National Weather Service said midday tornadoes caused tree damage Tuesday near Treloar in Warren County and the Cedar Hill-Byrnesville area of Jefferson County.

Prominent Alton couple dies after SUV submerged in floodwaters in Jersey County

Terry and Carolyn Dooley of Alton were both 88 years old. They had been married 65 years.

Heavy rains soak St. Louis region, force hundreds to flee threatened dam in Nashville, Ill.

Heavy rains on Tuesday forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents of Nashville, Illinois, as floodwaters here threatened to overwhelm an 89-year-old earthen dam.

___

(c)2024 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.