With flood insurance rates falling and risk increasing, Hampton Roads starts push to boost numbers

May 02-- May 2--A push is under way to boost the number of homeowners with flood insurance and raise awareness of the risks from frequent storms.

The roughly $100,000 campaign started this week with the launch of www.GetFloodFluent.org and will continue with a concentrated ad campaign targeting people through print, radio and online placements.

The goal is to correct misconceptions about flooding, said Ben McFarlane, a senior regional planner for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.

"If people look at a (flooding) map and they think they're out of a high-risk zone, that map might not be telling the whole story," he said.

Officials hope that the campaign will help boost flood insurance rates throughout the waterlogged region before this year's hurricane season.

From 2013 to 2018, the number of those with flood insurance in Hampton Roads' seven cities fell by roughly 5 percent, from 65,629 to 62,394, according to data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The number of policyholders dropped most in Hampton, where nearly 1,000 more people had policies in 2013 than in 2018. Virginia Beach lost 861.

Over that time, only Portsmouth increased by roughly 270 policyholders.

The cost of such coverage can vary significantly based on a number of different factors. In July 2018, the average policy in Newport News for someone in the "special flood hazard area" was $1,228 compared to $422 for those outside of that zone. The average cost throughout the entire state was roughly $737 in 2018.

The website -- developed by an advisory group of staff from all 17 localities in Hampton Roads -- is already being pushed out by cities throughout the region, including Chesapeake and Newport News.

The new resource, McFarlane says, will help people learn the risks by subjecting them to a deluge of flooding facts, including:

* The most common natural hazards are floods.

* One inch of water in a home can cost roughly $25,000 in repairs.

* In addition to facing the highest rate of sea level rise on the East Coast, Hampton Roads has started to see more intense and frequent rainfall over the past several decades.

* Even those outside of a "high-risk" zone can experience flooding, and the subsequent damage typically isn't covered by regular homeowners or renters insurance.

The campaign is being funded, in part, by a Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation grant, which covers 30 percent of the total cost with localities chipping in to cover the rest, McFarlane said.

He said officials hope to collect data during this pilot effort to improve future ad pushes that encourage residents to buy flood insurance.

"We're having to get used to living with water more and more frequently," he said. "At an individual level, having flood insurance is probably the best way to make your property more resilient."

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