Communities around the United States face the threat of being underwater. This is not only a matter of rising waters reaching the doorstep. It is also the threat of being financially underwater, owning assets worth less than the money borrowed to obtain them. Many areas around the country may become economically uninhabitable before they become physically unlivable. In Underwater, Rebecca Elliott explores how families, communities, and governments confront problems of loss as the climate changes. She offers the first in-depth account of the politics and social effects of the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which provides flood insurance protection for virtually all homes and small businesses that require it. In doing so, the NFIP turns the risk of flooding into an immediate economic reality, shaping who lives on the waterfront, on what terms, and at what cost. Drawing on archival, interview, ethnographic, and other documentary data, Elliott follows controversies over the NFIP from its establishment in the 1960s to the present, from local backlash over flood maps to Congressional debates over insurance reform. Though flood insurance is often portrayed as a rational solution for managing risk, it has ignited recurring fights over what is fair and valuable, what needs protecting and what should be let go, who deserves assistance and on what terms, and whose expectations of future losses are used to govern the present. An incisive and comprehensive consideration of the fundamental dilemmas of moral economy underlying insurance, Underwater sheds new light on how Americans cope with loss as the water rises.

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), maps flood hazard areas across the country and makes flood insurance available to more than 20,100 communities through the National Flood Insurance Program. From 2003 through 2008, FEMA spent $1.2 billion in a comprehensive effort to update the nation's flood insurance maps. In 2009, FEMA began an annual review of 20 percent of the nation's flood maps, for which Congress allocated $440 million in 2009 and 2010. As requested, GAO reviewed the actions FEMA has taken to enhance the accuracy of updated flood maps, and FEMA's outreach efforts in conducting flood mapping activities. GAO analyzed FEMA's mapping standards and information systems, tested quality assurance processes, and interviewed FEMA officials and contractors. "

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on a high-risk list since March 2006 because of concerns about its long-term financial solvency and related operational issues. Significant management challenges also affect the Federal Emergency Management Agency¿s (FEMA) ability to administer NFIP. This report examines: (1) the extent to which FEMA¿s management practices affect the administration of NFIP; (2) lessons learned from the cancellation of FEMA¿s attempt to modernize NFIP¿s insurance management system; and (3) limitations on FEMA¿s authority that could affect NFIP¿s financial stability. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.

The Nat. Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has been on the high-risk list since 2006, when the program had to borrow form the U.S. Treasury to cover losses from the 2005 hurricanes. The outstanding debt is $17.8 billion as of June 2011. This sizeable debt, plus operational and mgmt. challenges at FEMA, which administers NFIP, have combined to keep the program on the high-risk list. NFIP¿s need to borrow to cover claims in years of catastrophic flooding has raised concerns about the program¿s long-term financial solvency. This testimony: (1) discusses ways to place NFIP on a sounder financial footing; and (2) highlights operational and mgmt. challenges at FEMA that affect the program. This is a print on demand report.