Abingdon, Virginia

... Day 4 of 2010 National flood safety awareness week...

Today's flood safety theme is determining your flood risk and
buying flood insurance to protect against loss. Everyone lives
in a flood zone... whether that risk be low... moderate... or
high. Over a typical 30-year home mortgage... floods are nearly
three times more likely to occur than a fire. Put another
way... your home has the same chance of being flooded as your
car being stolen... yet few people have flood insurance. Even
low hazard flood areas are at risk... about one in three flood
insurance claims each year are paid to homeowners living
outside of high-risk areas.

You may think homeowner's insurance covers floods... but in
reality most homeowner's insurance does not cover flooding...
and just a few inches of water can cause thousands of dollars
in damage. Homeowners... renters... and business owners are
eligible to Purchase flood insurance as long as their
community participates in the National flood insurance program
or N-f-I-p.

The N-f-I-p is a federal program enabling property owners to
Purchase flood insurance at reasonable rates. It takes 30 days
after Purchase for a policy to take effect... so it is important
to buy insurance before floods threaten. Now is a great time to buy
flood insurance ahead of the Spring and Summer severe storm and
hurricane seasons.

For more information see the federal emergency management agency web
site at

Www.Floodsmart.Gov

To buy flood insurance... contact an insurance agent in your area.

Additional information about National Weather Service flood
warnings... advisories... and flood safety is available at...
www.Weather.Gov/floodsafety

For more information and media interviews call 423-586-3771 or write
Brian.Boyd@noaa.Gov