California Insurance

If Bernadette Chiang bought their ranch-style home in one of the city’s popular Sacramento, she liked the idea of the proximity of the Sacramento River.

The dam nearby, covered with grass and crowned with a range, it offers a scene to avoid a short walk from their homes. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but the city and its inhabitants have begun for levees in another light - as an end, fragile line between normalcy and catastrophe.

This month, Chiang and other owners in California in the capital to participate in an unusual electronic voting to decide whether taxes, even for greater protection dike. The vote, which ends Thursday, weighted, it is the greatest danger would be more pay. But many people wonder why taxes is never necessary, in view of the national electorate approved billions of dollars for protection against floods in November last year.

In the vicinity of Chiang demand at home, the owner asked to pay higher fees on average - $ 108 per year. The cover is appointed meeting, sitting in a curve, surrounded on three sides of California, the largest river. Most houses along the dike actually sitting under water.

A break could plethora of neighbourliness among more than 10 metres above the water. This Chiang flood the house and destroy the design business operates from their garage, where shelves are full of catalogues, plans and samples of tissue.

“Imagine you received this place flooded. I would have nothing remains,” she says.

Sacramento risk of flooding is one of the largest in every major city in the country. It lies at the confluence of rivers Sacramento and American rivers, and below Folsom Lake, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said, do not have enough space around a big flood.

The assessment should be two times higher than the area of protection against floods in 200 years, from 13 per cent chance of catastrophic flooding over 30 years is the average lifespan of a mortgage home.

When it happens - the results will be announced April 26 - The fee would be $ 274 million increase over 30 years for local governments to strengthen the hand of the approximately 100 miles of levees and increasing the Folsom Dam, about 20 km northeast of Sacramento along the American River.

A-Dur-tide in Sacramento, according to estimates reach 63800 housing, schools, hospitals and businesses in 102 square miles and could lead to more than $ 11 billion in damage, according to a study by the California Department of Water Resources .

Sacramento has seen devastating floods. Historian described the flood plain on which it rests, as an inland sea, River Pour the water in the valley at the bottom of every winter and spring.

In 1862, flooding was so bad, that the legislature contemplated move the capital to San Francisco. A break in the dike along the irdenen American River and heavy rains have delayed the construction of buildings statehouse, but the legislature has decided to increase rather than six feet.

Before the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes has renewed attention on the city of flood risk, local officials at home allows you to push the owners to a wide range of the former farmland north of downtown city.

The vast Natomas ununterscheidbar vicinity of houses and suburban Strip-mail, home of the Sacramento Kings’ Arco Arena, seated below a curve in the great Sacramento River. The risk of flooding is the worst in the nation, with the Government scientists predict that the floodwaters could be as deep as 26 feet.