Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mahatmakanejeeves

(56,874 posts)
Wed Sep 20, 2017, 04:45 PM Sep 2017

Flooded Houston-area homeowners might have been spared ruin but only if they read the fine print

I hear that zoning policy down there is scarce to limited, maybe even non-existent.

Subscription required.

Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold

I can't get over how insane this is. THEY BUILT A SUBDIVISION IN A RESERVOIR AND THE HOMEOWNERS DIDN'T HAVE FLOOD INSURANCE



Read all your property docs before buying, folks, lest you realize the new house is located IN A RESERVOIR:



Flooded Houston-area homeowners might have been spared ruin — but only if they read the fine print
2 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Flooded Houston-area homeowners might have been spared ruin but only if they read the fine print (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Sep 2017 OP
They should have been in flood zones and mortgages should have required it Eliot Rosewater Sep 2017 #1
The maps they used to determine who was in a potential flood zone cloudbase Sep 2017 #2

Eliot Rosewater

(31,096 posts)
1. They should have been in flood zones and mortgages should have required it
Wed Sep 20, 2017, 04:53 PM
Sep 2017

Unless Texas has no rules, but hard to imagine banks allowing that

cloudbase

(5,486 posts)
2. The maps they used to determine who was in a potential flood zone
Wed Sep 20, 2017, 05:13 PM
Sep 2017

weren't exactly accurate.

From the Houston Chronicle:

FEMA's 100-year flood plain map doesn't have the best reputation in Bayou City – just ask any Houstonian whose home was outside the flood risk zone yet still filled with water during one if the city's many and recent flooding events.

Still, a new study by Rice University and Texas A&M-Galveston suggests FEMA's hazard mapping may be even less accurate than most people think.

Researchers examined flood damage claims from several southeast Houston suburbs between 1999 to 2009 and found that FEMA's flood predictive maps failed to show 75 percent of flood damage.

"The takeaway from this study, which was borne out in Harvey, is that many losses occur in areas outside FEMA's 100-year flood plain," said study co-author Antonia Sebastian in a prepared statement.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-FEMA-flood-map-missed-75-percent-of-flood-12212943.php?utm_content=chron_hp_zonec_hold_v1&ipid=chronhpholdreccos

Latest Discussions»Region Forums»Texas»Flooded Houston-area home...