Communities and homeowners in New Hampshire are still recovering from the destruction brought on by heavy rains and flooding this summer.
Climate scientists predict this kind of extreme weather will become more common in the future. Homeowners are facing increasing flood risks to their properties, and most home insurance policies don't cover flood damage.
Jennifer Gilbert is the Coastal Resilience Project Manager for the Department of Environmental Services, and she previously coordinated FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program in New Hampshire.
She says that all properties have some risk of flooding, even if they're not near a river or coastline.
“Where it rains, it can flood,” Gilbert told NHPR’s Morning Edition host Rick Ganley. “Manchester has a lot of problems in the fall when the leaves cover up the storm drains. So [the water] rises up and it runs into people's properties and floods the basement. That's considered a flood.”
She recalls when major flooding in the early 2000s hit the state hard. She worked with some residents without flood insurance who faced severe damage to their properties.
“There was federal disaster assistance that they were able to access, but it just wasn't enough to get them back to where they were before,” Gilbert said. “Many of them have to walk away from their home because they just didn't have the resources to rebuild and start over again where they were.”
Gilbert says there’s been a decline in the number of people holding flood insurance policies, but she recommends people talk to their existing insurance agent about flood insurance. Agents can quote plans for renters and homeowners with different levels of coverage and affordability.
Aside from insurance, Gilbert says people can follow a few strategies to protect their homes from flood damage. The Association of State Floodplain Managers’ portal provides tailored options for people to lower their flood risk, including basic actions like moving important items out of the basement and elevating furniture.
Gilbert also suggests people take pictures of everything in their home in case they need to document damage after a flood.
“[And] having a plan in place of keeping your documents safe from water [and] having an emergency plan. Those little things that we don't think about would just go a long way in the end.”
Learn more about preparing an emergency plan at readynh.gov.
