A week after Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeastern United States, residents in the hardest damaged areas are wondering how they will pay for the water damage caused by one of the deadliest storms to hit the mainland in recent history.

The Category 4 storm that hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on September 26 has dropped trillions of gallons of water across numerous states, leaving a devastation trail that stretches hundreds of miles inland. According to the National Hurricane Center, more than 200 people have died in what is now the deadliest hurricane to strike the continental United States since Katrina.

Western North Carolina and the Asheville area were particularly heavily struck, with water destroying buildings, roads, utilities, and property in ways that no one expected, let alone prepared for. Inland areas in Georgia and Tennessee were also flooded out.

The Oak Forest neighborhood in south Asheville stands up to its name, with trees towering over 1960s ranch-style houses on spacious lots. But on September 27, as Helene’s leftovers passed across western North Carolina, many of those trees fell, occasionally hitting houses.

Julianne Johnson said she was walking upstairs from the basement to help her 5-year-old son pick out clothes when her husband started yelling about a massive tree falling crosswise across the yard. The tree mostly avoided the house, although it did crush a portion of a metal porch and damage the roof. Then, Johnson claimed, her basement flooded.

Homeowners Hit By Hurricane Helene Face The Grim Task Of Rebuilding Without Flood Insurance

On Friday, a blue tarp was secured to the roof with a brick. The sodden carpet that the family had taken out sat on the side of the house, awaiting disposal. Johnson stated that she was unable to file a house insurance claim until four days after the storm due to a lack of cell phone connection and internet.

“It took me a while to make that call,” she explained. “I don’t have an adjuster yet.”

Roof and tree damage are typically covered by the average house insurance policy. Johnson, like many homes, does not have flood insurance, and she is unsure how she would pay for that portion of the damage.

Those recovering from the storm may be startled to hear that water damage is a separate issue. Insurance professionals and experts have long warned that home insurance often does not cover flood damage to a home, even though flooding can occur anyplace it rains. Flooding is caused by more than just seawater seeping into the land; it also includes water from banks, mudflows, and excessive rainfall.

However, most private insurance firms do not offer flood insurance, making the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program the principal supplier of coverage for residential homes. Congress established the government flood insurance program more than 50 years ago after many private insurers discontinued issuing policies in high-risk areas.

According to FEMA’s most recent data, North Carolina has 129,933 such policies in place, however, the majority of that protection will likely be located on the coast rather than in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where Helene inflicted the most damage. In comparison, Florida has over 1.7 million flood policies in place across the state.

Charlotte Hicks, a flood insurance expert in North Carolina who has led flood risk training and educational outreach for the state’s Department of Insurance, believes that many Helene survivors will never be fully compensated. Without flood insurance, some people may be able to rebuild with the assistance of charitable organizations, but the majority would be left to fend for themselves.

“There will absolutely be people who will be financially devasted by this event,” Hicks said to the audience. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Some may face foreclosure or bankruptcy. Entire neighborhoods will most likely never be restored. According to Hicks, there has been widespread water damage, and for others, mudslides have even stolen the land where their house once stood.

Meanwhile, Helene is proving to be a more manageable disaster for the private home insurance market, as those policies typically only cover wind damage from storms.

This is a relief for the sector, which has been under increasing pressure from other worsening climate disasters like wildfires and tornadoes. Nowhere is the declining private market due to climate instability more visible than in Florida, where many companies have already stopped offering coverage, leaving the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corporation as the state’s largest insurer.

According to Mark Friedlander, a representative for the Insurance Information Institute, Helene is a “very manageable loss event,” with insurer losses estimated to be between $5 billion and $8 billion. This is in comparison to the insured losses from Category 4 Hurricane Ian in September 2022, which were anticipated to cost more than $50 billion.

According to Friedlander and other experts, less than 1% of the inland communities that saw the most catastrophic flood devastation have flood insurance coverage.

“This is very common in inland communities across the country,” Friedlander explained. “Lack of flood insurance is a major insurance gap in the U.S., as only about 6% of homeowners carry the coverage, mostly in coastal counties.”

Amy Bach, executive director of the consumer advocacy group United Policyholders, said the photos of flood destruction in North Carolina horrified her, despite decades of witnessing the difficult recovery journeys of natural disaster survivors.

“This is a significant situation in terms of people being disappointed. They will be disappointed in their insurers as well as FEMA,” Bach stated. “FEMA cannot match the kind of dollars private insurers are supposed to be contributing to the recovery.”

Homeowners Hit By Hurricane Helene Face The Grim Task Of Rebuilding Without Flood Insurance

This Monday, FEMA said that it could handle Helene’s urgent needs, but warned that it does not have enough resources to last through the hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, despite the fact that most hurricanes occur in September and October.

Even if a homeowner has it, FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program only provides up to $250,000 for single-family houses and $100,000 for possessions.

Bach stated that in addition to homeowners educating themselves on what their policies cover and do not cover, the solution is a national catastrophe insurance program that functions similarly to the Affordable Care Act for health insurance.

Following Hurricane Floyd in 1999, the state of North Carolina began requiring insurance agents to take a flood insurance class so that they could appropriately advise their clients on the risk and available policies, according to Hicks. The state also requires home insurance policies to clearly mention that they do not cover floods.

“You can’t stop nature from doing what nature is going to do,” Hicks pointed out. “To believe that things will never be this awful again is a hazardous assumption. Many people underestimate their risk of flooding.

SOURCE | AP

(VOR News) – On August 31, President Joe Biden was asked about his fall campaign. “On the road from there on,” he said, visiting Pittsburgh on Labor Day.

Biden hasn’t appeared since Labor Day in Kamala Harris’ campaign. Beyond that, his ceremonial occasions occasionally eclipse hers.

Hurricane Helene forced Harris to travel to Washington for a FEMA briefing, postponing Las Vegas campaign operations. Harris distracted his political successor by reaching for a command center podium as Joe Biden issued his storm response remarks from the Oval Office.

Democrats may win the House, Senate, and lower-ballot races, including Harris, without presidential campaigning or scheduling issues. Former president Obama questioned Harris. Before November 5 in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Obama will tour battleground states. Recorded Florida, Maryland, and Michigan Democratic Senate advertisements.

Managing a new presidential campaign is hard.

Lame-duck presidents grapple with succession. Harris had less time to campaign once Joe Biden left for a second term.

Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “I think he’s doing his job as president.” “That seems to be the most crucial factor,”

Hurricane Helene created temporary issues.

Biden postponed his Pennsylvania campaign event and drove with Harris to the Carolinas and Georgia on Wednesday to assess damage and offer support.

Their remarks varied. On Friday, Biden unexpectedly entered the White House briefing room and disrupted Harris’s presentation on unions outside Detroit. It was his first presidential address.

On Tuesday, Biden will help Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in suburban Philadelphia and travel to battleground Harris’ staff ignored Biden’s run.

The president of Pennsylvania is tied to union leaders and blue-collar workers. Brazile promised to “put him on a bus” for PA’s campaign.

Brazile: “I would make sure he is out there in the final weeks and days of the campaign.” “He has connections to people she will require.”

At a White House gun control rally with Harris in August, Biden declared, “We cannot let Kamala lose.” Both frequently discuss the Middle East in the Situation Room.

Joe Biden and Harris’ lone campaign event failed.

The White House proposed Biden introduce Harris at their lone political engagement on Labor Day, when the vice president replaced the president. Her procedural violation emphasized union aid.

“Electing Kamala Harris to the presidency will prove to be the best choice you have ever made,” Biden addressed the assembly. Biden uncomfortably grabbed close friends’ hands after speaking since Harris hadn’t.

Democratic voters prefer Harris over Biden, thus Harris may not want Biden’s help. Harris lauded the administration and her work while neglecting major issues.

That includes encouraging gun ownership more than Biden, restricting US-Mexico border asylum, and raising affluent Americans’ long-term capital gains taxes after Biden slashed them.

Many things need Joe Biden’s time.

Biden’s campaign absence may worsen as his administration handles Hurricane Helene and the Middle East.

“When you’re doing your job, you don’t need to campaign,” said Nikki Fried, Florida Democratic Party chair. Fried said Biden’s Thursday visits to numerous states showed that “the full force of the federal government stands with the people during times of heartbreak and uncertainty.”

Presidents are always busy, as shown by last month’s New York U.N. General Assembly meetings and Joe Biden’s Germany and Angola travels. Despite the White House promising further political action after the trip, he can’t campaign for Harris until mid-October, three weeks before Election Day.

Joe Biden can succeed, says Fried.

Says “Joe Biden adores being out on the campaign trail.” “He’s seen interacting with voters and communities while strolling around, and it definitely puts a spring in his step and a smile on his face.”

Some things are better avoided.

Party candidates benefit from president’s absences. Bush lost support after the 2008 financial crisis. McCain resigned citing economic problems after criticizing the government’s Katrina and Iraq War responses.

“I want him to win whether my presence and support for him help him or if I oppose him and it helps him,” he adds.

In 2000, Al Gore distanced himself from Bill Clinton by condemning Monica Lewinsky and other misdeeds. That contributed to Gore’s narrow loss to Bush, according to Democrats.

Clinton and Biden are different, argues Hillary’s 1992 campaign planner Paul Begala. Begala noted, “Clinton enjoyed widespread popularity in 2000.” “Biden is not.”

For Biden, Begala proposes “focusing on governing, and leaving the campaigning to Kamala” and her closest allies.

: “A lot of people can campaign for her: Oprah, Taylor Swift, the Obamas, and the Clintons.” Only Biden can be president.

SOURCE: AP

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Starbucks’ interim CEO, Howard Schultz, violated federal labor law in 2022 by telling a California barista who expressed concerns about unionization that “if you’re not happy at Starbucks, you can go work for another company.”

The National Labor Relations Board ruled on Wednesday that Schultz’s statement constituted an unconstitutional, coercive threat.

The decision highlights Starbucks’ difficult relationship with organized labor, as more and more employees at its outlets unionize.

Howard Schultz Violated Labor Law By Telling Employee ‘If You’re Not Happy At Starbucks, You Can Go Work For Another Company’

In 2022, as interim CEO, Schultz visited a business event in Long Beach, California, to address and improve working conditions at Starbucks locations. According to the NLRB, Barista Madison Hall attempted to discuss the benefits of unionization as well as Starbucks’ claimed history of unfair labor practices.

“Why are you angry at Starbucks?” Schultz inquired. He stated that the occasion was not the appropriate forum for discussing union problems before remarking on working elsewhere. The administrative law decision states that he “had an angry expression on his face.” The NLRB ruling maintains an administrative law judge’s decision from October 2023.

Starbucks issued a statement expressing its disagreement with the board’s decision. “Our focus remains on training and supporting our managers to ensure respect for our partners’ right to organize, and we are making progress in our discussions with Workers United,” a business representative said in a statement Thursday.

Though Schultz stepped down from his third term as CEO in March 2023, he remains involved with the company. When he retired from Starbucks’ board of directors in September, the business named him “lifelong chairman emeritus.”

“We note that the judge identified the Respondent’s highest official, interim CEO Schultz, as a ‘legendary leader,’ a status that would exacerbate the coercive nature of Schultz’s statement,” the ruling read.

Since the first Starbucks branch in Buffalo, New York, unionized in 2021, the coffee business has been embroiled in hundreds of labor battles over alleged union-busting practices. In June, the Supreme Court heard Starbucks v. McKinney, a case involving seven employees who were fired after attempting to form a union. The Supreme Court agreed with Starbucks.

An NLRB administrative law judge earlier stated that Starbucks had engaged in “egregious and widespread misconduct” in its dealings with employees involved in unionization efforts at Buffalo outlets, including the first site to unionize. Starbucks dispatched high-level executives into Buffalo-area stores on a “relentless” campaign, according to the judge, which “likely left a lasting impact as to the importance of voting against representation.”

Starbucks stated at the time that it is “considering all options to obtain further legal review,” and that “we believe the decision and remedies ordered are inappropriate given the record in this matter.”

Howard Schultz Violated Labor Law By Telling Employee ‘If You’re Not Happy At Starbucks, You Can Go Work For Another Company’

The union reports that on October 1, the 500th Starbucks location in Washington state decided to unionize.

The NLRB ordered Starbucks on Wednesday to stop threatening to terminate employees for unionizing and to post a notice of employee rights in all of its Long Beach outlets.

“We are pleased to see the NLRB continuing to advocate for workers and their legal right to organize. At the same time, we’re looking ahead and proud to be on a new journey with the firm,” said Michelle Eisen, co-chair of Starbucks Workers United’s national organizing committee and bargaining delegate, in a statement to CNN on Thursday.

SOURCE | CNN