Flood Insurance to Cover Crop Losses from Morganza Flooding

Due to heavy rainfall in the Midwest the Morganza Spillway is going to be opened Sunday to relieve pressure on the structure and cause some massive flooding in south Louisiana, especially cropland near the Mississippi River.

Originally the federal crop insurance program was not going to pay for destroyed crops because the event was man made. But Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain says that has all changed. Whether or not the Morganza Spillway is opened it’s going to put water into the basin.

“If we do not open the Morganza then the spillway will be topped and we lose control of that water and possibly lose that structure,” says Strain.

“According to a Managers Bulletin—quote—”In scenarios presented by the US Army Corps of Engineers flooding of significant amounts of cropland was inevitable with or without opening of the Morganza Spillway due to the severity of the flood event; therefore crop losses resulting from such flooding as caused by unavoidable naturally occurring events and is insurable under the basic provisions and the included crop provisions for crop programs applicable to the area,” said Strain.