Hurricane Harvey Is Going To Slam Into Texas And The National Flood Insurance Program Is A Mess

Hurricane and Tropical Storm Warnings are posted along the coast of Texas as Harvey makes its way across the Gulf of Mexico, promising to drop biblical amounts of rain on parts of the state. The storm, which is expected to strengthen to a category 3 hurricane by the time it makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday, will be the first major hurricane to strike the United States in 12 years and will likely cause devastating flooding from rain and storm surge.

Once the storm has passed and residents begin to clean up, they will likely use a federal program to make insurance claims. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), created in 1968 and administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is a federal program designed to help people in flood-prone areas get insurance for their properties, at heavily discounted rates.