California Floods

[Gregory Matthews]

1) Evacuations continue.  Maxwell has been evacuated in the last 24 hours.

2) A huge bridge, the Pfeiffer bridge has become  unstable and is closed to all traffic to include foot traffic.

http://www.ksbw.com/article/pfeiffer-bridge-starting-to-fail-in-big-sur/8777446 

3)  The estimate to California bridges and roads may reach one billion dollars and that may not be the end.

4)  The Oroville dam, the highest dam in the U.S. is currently safe.  However, the Federal government and California, are currently actively planning for its total failure as the  future is not totally certain.

5) There are multiple dams where the water level has either reached the built-in emergency spillway  or is about to.  And multiple levies are stressed.

NOTE:  On a personal basis, I do not believe that  our home would be flooded under any conditions.  However, the street in front of our home has a past history of several inches of water on it.

NOTE:  The current situation clearly presents the value for people to purchase flood insurance.  The reality is that few people purchase it.  Yet for people who are not in a high risk area, it can often be purchased for a bit over $400 a year.  In addition, even in California, earthquake insurance can often be purchased for a reasonable amount.

   

[Gregory Matthews]

Further comment on flood insurance:

Our last home in Colorado was sitting on property that was on a slight rise.  There was no way that property would ever flood.  But, the backyard was configured in such a manner that a monster rainstorm could channel water into our basement, which we finished.    So, I purchased flood insurance to cover that   situation.

Well, while we lived in the home,  a 500 year storm came and the flood reached within 1/2 block of our home.  The storm did not channel any water into our home.  Our two sump pumps ran 24 hours a day and in general kept water out of our basement, which was due in part our sealing the basement walls and floor from radon seepage.  The net result was that the actual water damage to our home was less than $150, well below our flood deductable.