Hurricane Helene decimated much of the southeastern United States last week, causing widespread destruction and claiming the lives of more than 230 people across six states after it made landfall in Florida. North Carolina bore the brunt of the damage caused by the climate change-intensified storm. As North Carolina homeowners face a future of rebuilding, they are also staring down the barrel of an insurance crisis.
Only 1 in 200 homes in Western North Carolina, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Helene, have flood insurance, according to a Reuters analysis of federal flood insurance data and census data compiled by the University of Minnesota. The average homeowners insurance policy covers damage from wind but not flooding. Increasingly, whether those facing losses from climate-driven storms will see a penny from insurers depends not on whether their homes are damaged but how.