Most North Carolina storm survivors have no flood insurance

Storm survivors in North Carolina are struggling without flood insurance. People who lived in the hills and mountains where the floods hit are now facing massive repair bills and risk losing everything they own. NBC News' Jesse Kirsch reports.

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#HurricaneHelene #NorthCarolina #floodinsurance

[beautifulloser]

My heart is heavy for the victims of this hurricane.

[shawnsmith]

Most people don’t have flood insurance

[koicaine]

😢😢😢 This is so devastating 😢 Y'all, we got hit by the eye where I live in Georgia and this area was heavily damaged but we had no idea about the Carolina's and Tennessee until around day 5 or 6 because we had no cell service or any ways of contacting the outside world, and it just breaks my heart knowing that they got it so much worse than we could ever have known 😢😢

[ChosenOne]

My brother lives in Hendersonville, NC his flood insurance coverage was 100k and was only $25 extra a month. The adjuster arrived yesterday. They gave him itemized statement of payment he will received by direct deposit in two days.

[BjornStyrmir]

Yea because insurance is way overpriced, it’s not affordable anymore.

[lr]

Unless your insurance company forces you to have it because of your area being prone to flooding, people usually have the minimum home insurance.

[naveedrehman]

Most people don’t have flood insurance because most people don’t live “near” a body of water.

[rudyalfonsus]

can't blame them. i mean, they are on the mountain. Before this, who would have thought flood can destroy their house on a mountain?

[bradleylove]

Samaritans Purse has been on the ground here with supplies and generators for the homeless. Much better response from them than any other relief organization. Give to Samaritans Purse instead of Red Cross if you really want to help these people.

[JessicaIsAVegan]

I can't imagine buying a home in an area where you're told flood insurance isn't needed and then your home gets washed away. 😢 🙏🏻

[brokendreamsbrokenheart]

How can people not understand? A flood this severe in Western NC Appalachia is like a 3 ft. blizzard in Florida. Would you expect people in Florida to have heaps of extra insurance for snow? No, of course not! So why would you expect people in Appalachia to have something that, to them, would be just as absurd? And not mention, Appalachia is the poorest region in the entire nation. Where do you think extra money for unnecessary flood protection would come from? Most local people in Western NC Appalachia don't have insurance for themselves...life, health, dental, vision, none of it. You seriously think people have money for EXTRA insurance on their houses? People in rural Western NC barely have food to eat, let alone flood protection. People have no idea the struggle. I've no idea how rural NC will ever recover from all this...but somehow, we will.

[rn]

It’s sad and unfortunate and the last flood that took place in that area was nearly 100 years ago. You have to do your research when you buy a property it may never hit during your lifetime, but it’s something that you have to consider when purchasing real estate in a potential flood area.

[ccccarriemchardy]

No point having insurance if it keeps happening.

[WhatIThink]

1:23 Exactly, don't rebuild. The floods will happen again.

[phoenix-radar]

Tbf if i ran an insurance company, i would never cover them either!

[piku]

Housing really needs to be decommodified.

[nadiah]

Stop sending money to Israel and start helping people in need in the US.

[astrahcat]

Imagine just paying off your 500, 000.00 home in Asheville, and then this happens and you don't have insurance. Life is life I guess, one day you're rich, one day you're poor. If the families get away with their health though, in my eyes, they're still rich.

[jmiller]

You rebuild it and it could be destroyed again in five years? A decade? Fifty years? I'd be cutting my losses and moving.

[JK-brmu]

Flood insurance is only about $800/yr on average in the US, according to the gubbment, CNBC and they weren't expecting it in this part of North Carolina, deep water. $65/month or so.