GREENSBORO, N.C. -- President Barack Obama added Sumter, Claredon and Berkeley Counties to the list of designated disaster areas in South Carolina, Tuesday evening.
The major disaster declaration already included Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, Horry, Lexington, Orangeburg, Richland and Williamsburg Counties. This declaration makes people and businesses in those counties eligible for financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA].
Not all the areas that experienced flooding qualify for this disaster assistance. More than 6 inches of rain fell in Greer, South Carolina. It doesn't seem like much when you compare it to the 20+ inches of rain that pounded Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, but it's enough to cause significant damage.
According to the Flood Smart damage estimator, 6 inches of water in a 1,000 square foot house can cause nearly $20,000 in damage. For the same size house, a 4-foot flood would cause an estimated $39,000 in damage.
READ:The Cost of Flooding
"A lot of people may think they have coverage for flood by they don't," said Scott Patella, Insurance Executive, Craft Insurance. "Under the normal state mandated forms for homeowners insurance, flood is always excluded. So in order to get the flood coverage, you must buy stand-alone flood policy."
Patella added, "There's no such thing as not living in a flood zone."
"Everyone is in a flood zone, there are high risk zones, some zones are higher risk than others. The majority of us inland and in the Triad live in a low-risk zone but still, we are in a flood zone."
Patella says the phones in his Greensboro office were "ringing nonstop" last week when people in the Triad were preparing for the possibility of several inches of rain.
"If there was 8 inches of rain forecast, at that point, you want flood insurance." But at that point, it's too late. There is a 30-day waiting period for the flood insurance to go into effect.
Patella explained, "They're annual policies, the entire premium must be paid in full and then if you wanted to cancel or had to cancel for whatever reason during that annual period, there's no refund."
Most of the Triad is in a low-risk flood zone, much like several of the areas in South Carolina that were devastated by flooding. Policies in low-risk zone range from $167 to upwards of $500 a year.
"This probably won't be the last flooding incident we are ever going to have so even though we can't take care of your immediate need, it's important to think about the future," said Patella.
