As things settle back to normal in the outlying areas near Oroville Dam, residents are scrambling to get flood coverage as industry insiders predict losses of catastrophic proportions if the California dam collapses completely.
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However, it may be too late for some residents to get coverage, according to Edith Lohmann, a national flood insurance specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In a report by the Ventura County Star, Lohmann explained that flood insurance plans usually take a month to take full effect, time that most residents may not have with storms anticipated to descend on the area.
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“There is a standard 30-day waiting period before a flood insurance policy goes into effect, so we encourage people to talk to their flood insurance representative early,” Lohmann said in the report.
Furthermore, the local media outlet said that the damage resulting from the complete failure of the Oroville dam would be “financially catastrophic.” Quoting housing analyst firm CoreLogic, the publication said that 50,000 homes are likely to be affected by the damage and it would result in $13.3 billion in reconstruction costs.
As of the end of 2016, FEMA reported it had 33 active flood insurance policies in Oroville covering more than $10 million at a cost of around $45,000 a year to policyholders.
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