OKLAHOMA CITY – Denise Singley says she can’t take much more of the destruction.
“The pets we’ve lost, the memories we’ve lost, you can’t get that stuff back,” she said.
There’s major damage throughout the house.
Their home’s flooded five times.
2013 was a real doozy.
“It got hit by a tornado, then a week later, the flood [happened],” Denise said.
The family is forced to keep rebuilding in a flood zone.
Buddy Combs is an attorney and the director of public policy for the Oklahoma Insurance Department.
He says your homeowner’s insurance policy won’t cover damage caused by rising flood waters.
“That’s only going to be covered through a flood policy through the National Flood Insurance Program.
Denise’s lender requires that her family carry flood insurance through FEMA.
Combs says it’s those who don’t live in a flood zone that run an even greater risk.
“We have large rainfall like we just had and they end up not having flood insurance because they think they’re not going to get flooded and they do,” he said.
Those thinking about purchasing property in a high risk area should think twice.
“They need to make sure they get every bit of information that they can get from FEMA, on the history of flooding in that area, they need to look over the FEMA map.”
For now, Denise and her family are stuck.
“We can make it look livable when you put the walls back together and paint, but it’s not safe,” she said.
We’re working with the Oklahoma Insurance Department to try to come up with a solution for Denise and her family.
We’ll keep you posted.
FEMA’S Flood Insurance Program
The In Your Corner bottom line:
- Get to know all of your insurance policies, what they do and don’t cover.
- Renters should also get flood insurance for their belongings.
