Homes in Arlington, TX which were damaged or destroyed by Tropical Storm Hermine in 2010, and eventually bought out by the city are now being demolished. What was once a
denseneighborhood will now be greenbelt and park area with scattered homes remaining which were originally built with the finished floor elevations at a level which is above the base flood elevation. We can only wish those remaining home owners luck in the future.
The lesson we learned here and from similar cases across the
country is that flood insurance is a necessity for many properties, however in the end, if a home is destroyed and most likely going to suffer the same fate again sometime in the future, it’s best just
to bite the bullet and cut your losses.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a big advocate of flood insurance. The NFIP is a very good program and saves thousands of people so much money every year. Unfortunately there are a few cases annually, such as in my neighborhood with Hermine, where rebuilding is just pointless…and could even be called insane (doing the same thing over and over the same way and expecting different results).
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