FLOOD INSURANCE

FLOOD INSURANCE. In February 1969 it was announced that Dubuque would probably be the first city in the nation in which government-subsidized flood insurance would be available. The program was part of the National Flood Insurance Program, part of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 in which the federal government would work with private insurance companies to make flood insurance available for the first time.

The catch in the program was that only those owning homes in a flood-prone area would be eligible to purchase the insurance. In 1969 only an estimated dozen homes were considered to lie in such an area. Most of the buildings in flood-prone areas of Dubuque were businesses which could not, as yet, be insured under the new program.

Dubuque was chosen for the new program because of the construction of the FLOODWALL. The city's name was mentioned so often in the news that it was chosen as one of the cities to pilot the program. Much research had already been done in Dubuque when it was under consideration for the federally-financed floodwall. Engineers from the Rock Island Army Corps of Engineers came to Dubuque in May, 1966 to conduct a study for the insurance program. Under the provisions of the flood insurance program, a city had to have a preliminary study before it could qualify. Dubuque was in the position of already having such a study done.

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Source:

Templer, John. "Flood Insurance For Homes, But Not This Spring," Telegraph-Herald, February 17, 1969, p. 1