What is flood insurance? Isnt flood damage covered by homeowners insurance?

Available in participating communities through the National Flood Insurance Program, federal flood insurance provides monetary protection against direct physical loss by or from a flood to an insured property. Furthermore, as a means of recovering from the aftereffects of flooding, it is a more dependable alternative to federal disaster assistance, which is only available during a Presidentially declared disaster and must be repaid as an interest-bearing loan. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover property damage caused by a flood.  more