After Hurricanes Helene and Milton made landfall in the Sunshine State, Florida residents have been attempting to rebuild their homes and communities. However, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) is calling on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ease its regulations on home constructions so they can rebuild their lives, literally and figuratively.
AG Moody released the following statement, calling on FEMA to loosen its National Flood Insurance Plan.
“Florida was recently devastated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, leaving some Floridians with only debris in the places where homes once stood. While the recovery process has begun, burdensome regulations are making it so people cannot afford to repair damage and could force them to leave the communities they love. I’m calling on FEMA to ease the burden on these families who are struggling to rebuild on limited budgets,” AG Moody said.
In a letter to Acting Federal Insurance Assistant Administrator Jeffery Jackson, the Florida attorney general added that the National Flood Insurance Plan has uncovered a “disturbing issue” throughout this process.
“While the rebuilding process continues, a disturbing issue has come to light. Many homes affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton are participants in the National Flood Insurance Plan (NFIP), which is administered by FEMA. According to multiple reports, NFIP regulations are preventing many of these homes from being rebuilt or repaired,” said Moody. “According to NFIP regulations, homes that need ‘substantial improvements’ must be rebuilt to specific flood-resistant building code standards…Essentially, this means that if a citizen has any damage to their home that would cost half the pre-storm value of their home to be repaired, no other work on the home can be performed without updating the entire home to NFIP’s specifications.”
Moody also points out that the hurricanes affected the most vulnerable, including those with old, out of code homes and low-income areas.
“While it is preferable for any home to be built to the most current standards, many of those suffering most from the storms lived in older homes in low-income areas and do not have the resources to fundamentally rebuild their homes…In circumstances like this, many people will simply abandon their home and, possibly, have no choice but to leave the community they love altogether,” concluded Moody.
