flood insurance

Flooding is Kentucky's most frequent and costly natural disaster. Yet, only about 1% of the state's property owners have flood insurance. As Kentuckians begin cleaning up and rebuilding from April's deadly floods, many of them say the cost of flood insurance is out of reach as experts say major flood events are becoming more common.

Flooding in rural areas took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving families uncertain about whether their loved ones survived the unprecedented deluge.

Congress has tried to boost premiums on the cheap, subsidized insurance FEMA offers. But property owners in flood zones protested the rate hikes, and legislators backed off in 2013, calling for "further study." Meanwhile, a string of bad storms has left the program $24 billion in debt — so far.

The Lyon County Fiscal Court plans to repeal its flood insurance map ordinance because it’s causing a burden to some homeowners. The ordinance that went…