ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Questions about aging river levees in metro Albuquerque could mean insurance premium hikes as high as $2,000 annually for thousands of property owners.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has rated the condition of the 1950s-era levees as poor, but concluded they nevertheless are "likely capable" of withstanding a serious flood of the Rio Grande.
Still, Danny Hernandez of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority says it's "very likely" that all of the Albuquerque levees will be decertified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency by 2012. That's because the agency is more cautious now in the wake of disastrous New Orleans levee failures following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Officials say if the levees are decertified, mortgage holders would be required to buy additional flood insurance costing anywhere between $500 and $2,000.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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