Comments on: Iowa Flood Is Making Me Nervous

By: Mid Year Financial Checkup - 10 Important Tasks to Include in Your Mid Year Financial Checkup

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:52:29 +0000

[...] 2. Adequate insurance coverage. Do you have enough insurance? (Health, Disability, Life, Car Homeowners, Umbrella, and Flood). [...]

By: Bronco Joe

Bronco Joe — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:48:05 +0000

I am not convinced there are more natural disasters, either. Looking back over the records for many years, there are plenty of disasters in the past. And in many cases, many of those disasters resulted in a much greater loss of life and property. I think the key now is that everything is instantaneous and shown in extremely graphic video in real time. A good comaprison is wars – they were every bit as terrible before Vietnam as they were in that war and every war since. But the Vietnam war was the first time war was brought into our living rooms. It made war a much more real and personal issue. Natural disasters now are much the same. They are in our living rooms every night. In fact, what about some of the atrocities which have gone largely ignored? Things like the genocide in Rwanda and the current issues in Darfur? Without on the ground video coming back to us through real time reporting, the issue is largely off the radar of the average person. Same goes for natural disasters. They happened with regularity in the past, but no one knew about the disasters except those people affected by them. I guess I have a problem with the first sentence of the blog.

That being said, risk management is often an overlooked step in financial planning. I cannot even look up the flood map for my home – FEMA says it doesn’t exist! I did have flood insurance at one point (it was required – I was in a flood plain and the cost was $600+ a year, 15 years ago, on a house that was worth about $70,000!) but you have to remember fllod insurance does not cover septic or sewer backups, nor do I think it covers storm water coming up through drains. Flood waters must typically come through the windows or doors to be covered. I think it is worthwhile to have sewer back up protection added to your homeowner’s insurance. The cost is much less and the chances of it happening are, in some cases, much higher than the chance of a flood.

By: S. Klienerman

S. Klienerman — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:14:44 +0000

I used to live here, and thankfully not anymore. But my friends, who live 5 minutes away from my old house, received a ton of damage. They were devastated, and going broke now recovering these damages. My family and I offered them a place to stay (two towns over) and to come for dinners all week but they said they actually picked up food donated by AgriProcessors and are staying with their parents.

It’s nice to have one business giving back to the community. Maybe the meats, chickens, and turkeys AgriProcessors are giving out can spark more fun barbecues, and end some grieving.

By: B Smith @ Wealth and Wisdom

B Smith @ Wealth and Wisdom — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:53:24 +0000

Wow, a post on the financial impact of a natural disaster turning into a religious debate. You’ve got to love the internet!

The key to recovering from a disaster is planning ahead. Do you have a significant savings? Do you have adequate insurance? Are you debt free? These things will help you weather the storm (no pun intended).

I live in Houston and looked to history to help make my insurance decision. It is $350/year well spent considering the flood problems we have. That doesn’t help the people who were told “we don’t flood here.” It doesn’t help those that were in debt and have no savings.

There are organizations that help in times like this. The red cross is one that comes to mind. Also a lot of churches are extremely active in the recovery efforts.

And now to stir the pot…I’m not convinced that natural disaster frequency or severity is on the rise. If you look to history these things ebb and flow. Also you have to look at the actual facts not just the statistics that the media uses in their stories.

By: I’m Back… with a Little Rant | the religious atheist

I’m Back… with a Little Rant | the religious atheist — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:27:31 +0000

[...] Pinyo who is a personal finance blogger, wrote a post about the Iowa floods and how you should probably check that you have flood insurance. Obviously, that’s a natural target for a comment about how God must be punishing America for [...]

By: Cozmo

Cozmo — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:43:38 +0000

Oh wow. I think maybe I should start watching the news or somehow pay attention to what is going on in the non-technical world. I had no idea this flooding was going on. ::hides his head in shame ::

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:22:36 +0000

@Curt, what I was saying is that I doubt God would be causing natural disasters because of gay people. I think if God wants to punish the US or the world, there are far worse things going on in our country and world than gay marriage.

I’m not easy to confuse, I just find it shocking that you think God would focus on gay people rather than huge rates of murder, rape, child rape, etc. If you’re right about this being God’s doing, I’m pretty sure we could chalk it up to those instead. Even if they’re against the US law, they’re certainly being much-practiced by the US and all around the world.

By: Curt

Curt — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:13:30 +0000

You guys are so easy to confuse. It’s not the gays that are causing natural disasters. The gays are not controlling the universe. What about God? The God that everyone thinks in dead. Perhaps God is still alive and in full control of the universe that he created. The least you can do is agree and say, ‘yes it is his fault’ – God has abandoned us.

By: plonkee

plonkee — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:34:25 +0000

@Mrs. Micah: Sentiments like Curt’s remind me of that weird church somewhere in Kansas – something about the most hated family in America. At least the rest of you restore my faith in the common sense of Americans .

Back on topic. Flooding is the single most likely catastrophe that you might face in the UK (must be the gays, sorry couldn’t resist ). Fortunately for me, I live on elevated ground, so it would take a reasonable amount for me to get flooded. Also, because the geography is more compact, it’s not hard to get to somewhere a bit drier. But, I’m still going to check my flood insurance.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:25:08 +0000

@Curt, gay marriage? Really? You can’t think of a million “worse” things in the world…genocides, etc. Wow. Yep, I’m sure that the gays are destroying the world and our society. Not greed, not wars, not hatred….gays.

(sorry, Pinyo, but the comment was just so ridiculous)