🗣️ Vent to us

It's Wednesday — and Global Cat Day.

• Do something nice for our feline neighbors.

🌤️ Mostly sunny. 77°/56°.

• Sounds like: "After The Storm," Kali Uchis feat. Tyler, The Creator, Bootsy Collins.

Today's newsletter is 886 words, a 3.5-minute read.

Houses have historically been a key driver of middle-class wealth creation — but when some or all of your house gets destroyed in a flood, it feels less like an asset and more like a liability.

• That's a scenario of concern to millions this hurricane season.

Why it matters: Only a tiny proportion of Americans have flood insurance — and yet their insurance bills are already soaring.

• There's no easy or obvious way to protect homeowners from flood damage, even as climate change makes us ever more susceptible to it.

The big picture: Hurricane insurance comes in two forms, wind and flood, which need to be insured separately.

• There is effectively no private market in flood insurance. It is mostly provided by FEMA, whose flood insurance program was more than $20 billion in debt even before hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Stunning stat: Just 0.7% of homes in the North Carolina county that includes washed-out Asheville had flood insurance.

Driving the news: Hurricane Helene caused as much as $250 billion of damage in total and about $47 billion of damage to homeowners — but was not particularly damaging to insurance companies, which collectively saw about $11 billion in damages, per Moody's.

• Milton is likely to be much worse for insurers. Moody's estimates insured losses as high as $55 billion.

Zoom out: Regulators can't force private insurers to offer coverage — the companies can just leave the state entirely, as Farmers did last year in Florida.

• And if flood insurance is a guaranteed money-loser for FEMA, it will be for private insurers too.
• The upshot, says TD Cowen's Jaret Seiberg, is that "disaster loans are likely to remain the primary federal response" to hurricane damage.

The bottom line: Disaster loans, like all other loans, are a form of debt. Which means that owning a home, far from making folks wealthier, often just ends up increasing their liabilities.

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Mindful of increasing risks from extreme weather events such as hurricanes, Zillow will combine climate risk scores, interactive maps and insurance information on its home listings, the company recently announced.

Why it matters: This step gives prospective buyers their first combined look at climate risk information with home insurance recommendations.

• Due in part to climate change-related trends in extreme weather events — such as hurricanes in Florida — the price of home insurance has been increasing in many parts of the country.

Zoom in: The climate risk information will come from the climate risk company First Street. It will include historical data on past climate events that affected the area where a property is located, such as flooding or wildfires.

• It will also have scores on future risks to properties from floods, wildfires, high winds, extreme heat and poor air quality.

Between the lines: Factoring in insurance costs can be a major challenge for homebuyers in Florida, where more than a third of homeowners with a mortgage pay at least $3,000 a year for insurance.

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📚 Hillsborough County schools, 35 of which were still without power yesterday, will stay closed to students today but plan to reopen tomorrow. (Tampa Bay Times)

• Pinellas County schools are reopening today.

🤝 Distribution stations offering food, water, tarps, charging stations and more have opened across the region. (WFTS)

• Click here for a list by county.

💧Tampa Bay rivers including the Hillsborough, Withlacoochee and Alafia are still flooding after Hurricane Milton's historic rainfall. (WTSP)

🍊Seven cownose stingrays that were at Tropicana Field when the roof blew off during Milton were relocated to The Florida Aquarium's downtown Tampa campus. (WUSF)

• They're on public display in the aquarium's Stingray Beach exhibit.

NOVEL Independence Park blends the best of modern living with the calming atmosphere you need for a more balanced lifestyle.

Now leasing and touring 7 days a week, check out amenities like a fitness center, dog park, saltwater pool and more.

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Hurricane Helene and Milton flooded homes, ruined appliances and left 60,000 dump trucks' worth of wreckage in Pinellas County alone.

Why it matters: Cleanup could take months — and the longer it takes, the costlier it becomes, according to a report by the Tampa Bay Times.

• That's because FEMA is reimbursing 100% of local and state governments' costs for 90 days. After that, it's 75%.

Zoom in: Gov. Ron DeSantis sent over 2,000 state personnel to help with debris removal in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties — as well as smaller, cash-strapped locales — to take advantage of federal aid.

• Pinellas County Communications Director Barbra Hernandez and St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch acknowledged that the process of debris collection could take several months.
• Hernandez announced that the county will start collecting waste from unincorporated areas this week, while cities within the county will handle their own debris removal.

Go deeper: Where local pickup efforts stand

Hi. Hello. How are we all doing? Have we slept recently? Are we remembering to breathe?

State of play: We're weathering a collective season of intense stress, grieving – neighbors, homes, a sense of security, a favorite tree – and savoring – hot meals, crisp air-conditioning, steadfast friends, a cold front on the way.

Why it matters: We want to hear about all of it.

📮 Hit reply, and tell us what's on your mind: how you're doing, what you've been through, what's ticking you off, what's keeping you going, whatever else you think is important to help us tell the story of this shared moment.

• We may reach out with follow-up questions and feature your story in a future newsletter.

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Thoughtful design and superior home technology create the ideal space to discover a more relaxed lifestyle.

Tour studios and one- to three-bedroom apartment homes in Westshore Tampa that offer a well-balanced lifestyle where you're minutes from your next flight or a short drive to a good night.

💡 Kathryn finally got power back.

💨 Yacob will never take A/C for granted, again.

This newsletter was edited by Jeff Weiner.