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FEMA may not have enough for flood damages
Sandy has flooded thousands of homes in its devastating path, and estimates are that damages will in the billions of dollars. FEMA, which runs the federal flood insurance program, has to pick up the tab. But FEMA already owes $18 billion to the Treasury Department, thanks to Hurricane Katrina. Currently, insurance experts say FEMA's flood insurance program has access to funds totaling $3.8 billion, much of it in loans. If flood claims exhaust the fund, Congress may have to step in with additional taxpayer money. That will add to the already bloated national deficit, and anger fiscally-conservative members of Congress. Private insurers don't cover flooding. Sandy's storm surge pushed water from the Atlantic Ocean into basements and first floors in coastal Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, where subway tunnels remain flooded. Posted by: Au Auric 2012-11-04 |
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