With the recent events of Hurricane Harvey it really brings
to light the possibility of flooding.
Houston is somewhat low lying and the event was unusual in that the
storm hovered for a number of days over the city. It does point out that properties presumably
safe from flooding can experience a flood.
It has also been stated that the great majority of property owners did
not have flood insurance. Homeowners
insurance alone does not include flood insurance.
As we see with this event and Irma the possibility of
flooding can occur almost anywhere. In
the not too distant past Breezy Point saw 6 inches rain in less than 24
hours. We are blessed with soils that
provide great drainage but lakes hold water and lake elevations change with
rainfalls. Those areas that are flood
prone in our area are primarily lakeshore properties. These are the properties identified as having
some concern when it comes to flooding.
The City of Breezy Point and Crow Wing County have both
recently adopted a floodplain ordinance.
The ordinance provides for some restrictions on building and identifies
those areas that are prone to flooding through mapping. To adopt the ordinance it needed to be approved
by the DNR to make sure it met federal guidelines. With that assurance federally subsidized
flood insurance becomes available to anyone in the city that wants it,
regardless of location.
If you are interested in acquiring flood insurance please
talk with your insurance agent.
