Sacramento Urges Residents to Buy Flood Insurance

Sacramento officials are encouraging residents who live in a flood-prone neighborhood to buy flood insurance.

New federal flood maps that take effect today designate the region known as Natomas as a hazard zone. That means anyone with a federally backed mortgage must buy flood insurance.

City officials say homeowners who wait to get a policy might have to pay premiums that are five times higher.

The flood designation effectively halts residential construction in what had been one of the fastest-growing areas of Sacramento.

The neighborhood is between downtown and Sacramento International Airport and surrounds the Arco Arena, home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. Thousands of homes, condominiums and apartment buildings have been built there in recent years.