What is flood damage?
A complete documentation of flood damage would include both direct and indirect costs associated with flooding. Direct costs are closely connected to a flood event and the resulting physical damage. In addition to immediate losses and repair costs they include short-term costs stemming directly from the flood event, such as flood fighting, temporary housing, and administrative assistance. By contrast, indirect costs are incurred in an extended time period following a flood. They include loss of business and personal income (including permanent loss of employment), reduction in property values, increased insurance costs, loss of tax revenue, psychological trauma, and disturbance to ecosystems. They tend to be more difficult to account for than direct costs. The NWS describes its flood loss data as estimates of “direct damages” including, for example, loss of property and crops and costs of repairing damaged buildings, roads, and bridges. The NWS estimates have usually been restricted to
