Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Buy $25M in Flood Insurance for 2009

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, City Council has voted to buy $25 million of flood insurance.

The coverage, through the National Flood Insurance Program, would pay to clean up any buildings damaged by last summer’s flood if they flood again this year.

Casey Drew, the city’s finance director, says the estimated cost of the coverage is $280,000.

Councilman Chuck Wieneke noted that the city was in no rush to buy additional coverage that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will require as it pays to fix flood-damaged city buildings.

Drew says FEMA may spend $132 million to repair 21 buildings, and that the agency requires that the city insure for that amount. None of the buildings has been fixed.

Information from: The Gazette, www.gazetteonline.com