Consider insurance

Opinion

Discussion

January 29, 2013

Consider insurance

Anonymous The Kokomo Tribune Tue Jan 29, 2013, 12:25 AM EST

THE ISSUE: The strong possibility for flooding today.

OUR VIEW: If you haven’t yet, it’s a good time to investigate buying flood insurance. Remember, everyone lives in a flood zone.

Very heavy rain will fall across the Kokomo area tonight, as a strong cold front moves across Indiana, the National Weather Service warns.

Beginning tonight, up to 3 inches of rain is possible through Wednesday morning. That will cause dramatic rises to area creeks and streams, the weather service forecasts.

Couple the expected rainfall with melting snow and the rain we’ve already received, and the possibility for flooding in lowland areas is strong.

Fortunately, all the recent precipitation has fallen over several days, not in a single, hours-long downpour. But think back just 10 years ago.

More than 9 inches of rain fell overnight in Kokomo July 4 and 5, 2003.

Three feet of water flooded the basement of St. Joseph Hospital. Many Indian Heights residents were stranded by water. Dozens of families called emergency personnel for assistance.

The Kokomo Fire Department had a four-page list of places it visited within a 24-hour period.

Could it happen again someday? The Federal Emergency Management Agency says yes.

Floods are the No. 1 disaster in the United States. Your home has a 26 percent chance of being damaged by a flood during the course of a 30-year mortgage, compared to a 9 percent chance of fire.

Most homeowners insurance doesn’t cover flood damage. If you haven’t yet, consider participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. Here’s why:

Federal disaster assistance comes as a loan that must be paid back with interest. According to FEMA, a $50,000 loan at 4 percent interest would be about $240 a month for 30 years.

A $100,000 flood insurance premium is about $33 a month.

For information about the National Flood Insurance Program, an assessment of your home’s flood risk, premium estimates and participating area agents, log on to www.floodsmart.gov. You also can call toll-free at 888-379-9531.

Remember this FEMA warning: Everyone lives in a flood zone.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Opinion

Prepared for a disaster?
Put together a disaster plan and make sure everyone in your family knows what the plan is.

May 21, 2013
Move over, Ind. drivers
Keep highway and utility workers safe; remember to pull over for utility vehicles.

May 19, 2013
May 18, 2013: Cheers & Jeers
Commissioner earns respect of inmates

Kyle Stacy sends this Cheer for Howard County Commissioner Paul Wyman:

May 18, 2013
House of Burgess: The revolution will be printed
Another major milestone in the history of 3D printing was reached earlier this month when Cody Wilson, director of the nonprofit Defense Distributed, announced he had conducted the first-ever successful test firing of a completely 3D-printed gun in (where else?) Texas. Wilson then uploaded the plans online. These files were then downloaded over 100,000 times over the next 48 hours. That was, until the State Department intervened.

May 15, 2013 1 Photo
Hayden: From good to great in education
On the campaign trail last year and early into his administration, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said repeatedly that his goal as governor would be to take Indiana from “good to great.”

May 14, 2013
Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research. Instead, their words of wisdom come from a greater source — the heart, where they store and process life experiences. Unfortunately, some folks don’t receive the gift of maternal guidance, for various reasons.

May 14, 2013
Wolfsie: Making bird calls
One afternoon in 2011, my friend Eric spent a couple of hours over lunch explaining Twitter to me and I thought I understood it all, but as you’ll see from my first few tweets, I wasn’t very confident: “Is anyone getting this?”

May 13, 2013
Letter to the Editor: May 13, 2013
Good people wouldn’t do this to their neighbors. This common refrain is being heard over eastern Howard County where industrial development is planned for our farmland in the form of massive wind turbines.

May 13, 2013
Vasicek: Mother’s Day stresses
For two hours, the lady sitting next to another airplane passenger boasted about her grandchildren, producing a barrage of photographs. She finally realized that she had been talking the whole time, so she tried to make amends:
“Oh, I am sorry! I have monopolized the conversation. I will listen to you now. So please tell me: what do you think of my grandchildren?”

May 12, 2013
Letters to the Editor: May 12, 2013
How fortunate, that after years of trying to bring top-notch wind energy companies to Tipton County, this great choice is here for us — just at the right time. Tipton County badly needs the revenue from clean wind farm companies.

May 12, 2013
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

Discussion

Consider insurance

Site Map

Contact Us