FEMA: ‘buy flood insurance or give back our money’

Posted on November 18, 2016

Taylor County property owners affected by Hurricane Hermine had to wait more than two months for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to approve individual assistance here and now many of those same people are facing an additional hurdle mandated by FEMA: purchase flood insurance or give back the money.

“We’ve received calls from flood victims regarding their FEMA assistance due to damages,” Taylor County Emergency Management Director Steve Spradley said Thursday. “They found that money was deposited into their account fairly quickly. They received a letter soon afterward, however, that informed them that by accepting the assistance, they have a requirement to maintain flood insurance on the damaged home and if they do not accept the requirement to maintain flood insurance, they must return all disaster assistance money within 30 days.”

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