Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has urged all Californians to buy low-cost federally subsidized flood insurance in anticipation of the most powerful El Niño condition in history.
“If there was ever a time to buy flood insurance, this is the time,” FEMA deputy associate administrator Roy Wright said.
Flood insurance is funded through the federal government. Flood insurance policies for people in high-risk areas can cost $1,000 or a more a year.
According to Yahoo News, the 2015 El Niño which is expected to start this winter is forecast to be historic. There is a 95 percent chance that the current El Niño in the Northern Hemisphere will last through winter 2015-16, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned.