Midwest flood victims feel misled by feds

GULFPORT, Ill. (AP) - Juli Parks didn't worry when water began creeping up the levee that shields this town of about 750 from the Mississippi River - not even when volunteers began piling on sandbags.

After all, local officials had assured townspeople in 1999 that the levee was sturdy enough to withstand a historic flood, and FEMA had agreed. In fact, some relieved homeowners dropped their flood insurance, and others applied for permits to build new houses and businesses.

Then on Tuesday, the worst happened: The levee burst and Gulfport was submerged in 10 feet of water. Only 28 property owners were insured against the damage.

"They all told us, 'The levees are good. You can go ahead and build,'" said Parks, who did not buy flood coverage because her bank no longer required it. "We had so much confidence in those levees."

Around the country, thousands of residents who relied on risk maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency may unknowingly face similar dangers.

"People put all their hopes in those levees, and when they do fail, the damage is catastrophic," said Paul Osman, the National Flood Insurance Program coordinator for Illinois. "New Orleans is the epitome; a lot of those people didn't even realize they were in a floodplain until the water was up to their roofs."

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080619/D91DDG5O2.html

this is why we need a NATIONAL disaster policy.
there is potential for disasters everywhere either from hurricane, earthquake, flood, fire, tornado, blizzard etc...

i see it 2 possible solutions

a) fema and the national disaster declaration cover catastrophic losses which are specifically laid out in our insurance policies. we will should know exactly who covers what. costs would be included in taxes.

b) there is a single national disaster policy everyone can buy in to. the costs and risks are spread nationally.