However, the number of homeowners opting or mandated to have flood insurance continue to rise. Mr. Romano said. Terry Fell, of the FEMA Region 5 office in Chicago, said there are 1,065 flood insurance policies in effect in Rock Island County. Residents are required to have flood insurance in a flood plain if they receive a loan from a federally-regulated institution, Ms. Fell said. Besides mortgagees, those required to carry flood insurance are those who received FEMA assistance following the 1993 flood, added Mr. Romano.
Regulations requiring homeowners to buy flood insurance continue to change.
Policy numbers range from 296 in Moline to 78 in Andulusia, according to officials. Bill Cappuccio, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said Davenport has 763 flood policies. Not all of those policies are on the Mississippi River. This year, those who own homes in an area governed by a flood plain management ordinance that sustain more than 50 percent damage of the home's fair market value, will be required to meet building codes as determined by flood maps, said Tim Oliver, Rock Island County director of economic development, zoning and county mapping system. That could mean elevating the home to one foot above the base flood level for that area.