The City of Isleton is embarking on a two-year pilot program that will pay property owners up to $10,000 if flooding reaches a predetermined height.
AIRETON, Calif. — The small Delta town of Ayrton is so far the first and only in the state to pilot a new community-based flood insurance initiative.
This is a partnership between the Department of Water Resources, the California Department of Insurance, Kathleen Schaefer, a PhD candidate and researcher at the University of California, Davis, and the Delta Regional Geological Hazard Mitigation District (GHAD). The Geological Hazard Mitigation District (GHAD) was established about two years ago to address flood risk and flood insurance in California. Ayrton town.
“Less than half of the people living in Isleton have flood insurance and they face a very real risk of flooding. So if something were to happen it would be devastating for both the individual and the community. It could be something like that,” Schaefer told ABC10.
Isleton has a population of approximately 800 people. It is located on land completely surrounded by rivers and swamps, and the people live there at the mercy of the levy.
Iva Walton owns Mei Wah Beer Room on Main Street and moved to Isleton 10 years ago.
“The second year I lived here, the water was reaching the bank on the other side, and it looked like it was maybe a foot down,” she said, gesturing to the levy right next to her property. spoke. “I was so nervous, but my neighbor was like, ‘Oh, don’t worry.’ I’ve seen higher places.” So I trusted her and got through it. ”
Mr. Walton is a City Council member and Chair of GHAD.
“Our risk is pretty low in some ways. We still live on the river and anything is possible,” Walton said.
Longtime residents of Isleton remember the devastating flood of 1972, when one of the levees surrounding the town burst, unleashing several feet of water.
Pam Brahan, Mayor of Isleton, was 9 years old when her family had to evacuate. She told ABC10 she remembers seeing waves of water rushing over the fields and toward the town. The floods forced her family to evacuate for two years to rebuild.
Most recently, the California Department of Insurance announced that Isleton is piloting a new community-based flood insurance initiative, the first and only in the state. This effort was funded for two years by a $200,000 grant from the California Department of Water Resources and implemented by GHAD. .
Schaefer said the experiment will require area-wide flood insurance, and if flooding reaches a certain level, all property owners in town will receive up to $10,000 to spend on anything they need. They will be automatically paid in advance. The immediate aftermath.
“That would be a great thing to ensure that you’re not just stuck. Well, you can’t say ‘high and dry,’ but you can’t say ‘low and wet.’ yeah. It’s not just that you’re stuck, right? Then you will have a way to start taking care of yourself, your family, and your wealth,” Walton said. “We hope you never experience a payout, but it would be nice to have if such a disaster were to occur.”
Project leaders hope to purchase the policy with grant money by the end of the year.
“We want to learn from this and maybe be able to implement it throughout the Central Valley,” Schaefer said. “We have been in discussions with the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Insurance to expand the program to 35 small communities in the Central Valley where we are conducting small-scale community flood risk reduction studies.”
For now, the pilot is being funded through grants, but Isleton voters will decide next year whether to continue funding it through property taxes.
Leaders of the pilot project are still finalizing details, including how and whether renters will be included in the policy. They plan to work on more in the coming months.
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