Learn who created this website — and why.
Heartland Flood Help is a project of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the nation’s largest single funder of civil legal aid. LSC operates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.
LSC and its grantees are familiar with the challenges low-income residents face when flooding damages their homes and upends their lives. That’s because LSC grantees help low-income disaster survivors with issues such as insurance claims, federal disaster assistance, housing arrangements, and rent-gouging and evictions. But LSC also is looking for ways to be more proactive — to help residents lessen or prevent the damage that flooding can cause and better prepare themselves for recovery. That’s where Heartland Flood Help comes in.
Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma are among the 10 states that have experienced the most flood-related disasters over the past decade, and they could be prone to more frequent severe storms in the years to come. But because these states are inland — having no borders touching an ocean, gulf, or bay — many renters and homeowners are unaware of the flood risk and unprepared for a potential catastrophe. LSC’s hope is that this site will be an important tool, helping these residents become better prepared.
Using HeartlandFloodHelp.org, residents of these five states can determine their home’s risk of flooding by simply typing in their address. In addition, the site underscores that every home is at some risk. Using clear and simple language and stories from residents, the site gives renters and homeowners information on: