Curated Insights - October 30th

Gaps in flood insurance leave assets susceptible and increase costs for homeowners

📰 As Floods Become Bigger and More Common, Risks from Insurance Gaps Also Grow (Governing, 10/23)

• Many people learn too late that home insurance policies do not cover flooding (only 4% of Americans have flood insurance). 
• 95% of all flood insurance policies are written by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a program of FEMA. The private markets have the other 5%.
• The most vulnerable and challenging communities are those that are rarely hit by flooding, but when the flooding does occur, it's catastrophic.
• Legislative reforms to build more resilient communities are critical for reducing the costs to individuals.

Climate-vulnerable mobile homes increase financial risk for communities

📰 How Climate Disasters are Making Mobile Homes a Huge Risk (New York Times, 10/14)

• Mobile and manufactured homes were disproportionately impacted by Helene and Milton.
• 14% of homes in Western North Carolina and 11% of homes in Tampa Bay, Florida are mobile or manufactured. 
• Less stringent building code standards, lack of FEMA dollars benefitting mobile home parks, and low insurance coverage rates for homeowners all drive disproportionate impact. 

Local microgrids can ensure U.S. energy resilience amidst climate devastation 

📰 After Hurricane Helene, Pop-up Microgrids Powered Medical Clinics, Water Generators, Communications Equipment and other Critical Resources (Microgrid Knowledge, 10/21)

• After Hurricane Helene hit, disrupting power and essential services, microgrids were deployed to maintain critical services including powering medical clinics, water generators, and communication equipment. 
• The Disability Resource Center of the Panhandle utilized solar generators and trailers to provide services, such as wheelchair charging, for disabled people. 

North Carolina faces deficit of over $150 million and 1,600 people still displaced from disasters over 6 years ago

📰 ReBuild NC Has a Deficit of Over $150 Million With 1,600 People Still Displaced by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence (Inside Climate News, 10/16)

• ReBuild NC has been able to help 2,700 applicants and has withdrawn–voluntarily or involuntarily–4,000 applicants, leaving 1,600 applicants awaiting assistance.
• The State Legislature appropriated $273M to Hurricane Helene, but those funds cannot be utilized for previous disasters. There are questions of how the agency will manage the funds considering the history of financial and operational management.
• Agency officials attribute the deficit to fluctuating construction costs, the rapid need for building homes, the increasing cost of temporary housing (now at $71.7M) and the slow dispersal of federal funds.

Real estate, historically insulated from disasters impacting markets, is showing early signals of climate risk devaluations 

📰 Where Climate Change Poses the Most and Least Risk to American Homeowners (Washington Post, 10/15)

• The combination of climate risk, consumer attitudes, and insurance costs are putting some homes on track to become devalued assets. Prices fell most where people were worried about climate change, proving that people’s attitudes toward climate risk has an impact on the market.
• An analysis found that Florida property values in 2020 dropped by 5% relative to their pre-2008 recession high. 
• Historically, home prices rebound after a disaster, but this pattern was broken post-Sandy in 2012. 

Opportunities 

• 👥 October 31  @ 11:00AM PST: Beyond the Hurricanes: What Climate Change Means for Funders | This webinar will discuss how climate change is upending traditional disaster philanthropy and creating an opportunity for funders to rethink and adapt to the changing environment. Hosted by Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
• 👥 November 7  @ 12:00PM PST: Harvesting Strategies from the Agriculture Sector to Enhance Climate-Amplified Disaster Preparedness | This session will discuss how agrivoltaics (dual use of land for both agriculture and solar energy production) can be designed for disaster preparedness. Hosted by National Adaptation Forum.