The situation in Elba, Alabama, may be unique, but it speaks to a larger problem for Black Southerners.
On Sept. 29, Pastor Timothy Williams will lose the property insurance coverage for his home in rural Elba, Alabama. It’s another mark on a long list of recent letdowns for him in the aftermath of a persistent flooding crisis born by the expansion of a highway next to his home.
Since the state raised and expanded U.S. Highway 84 from two lanes to four, virtually every time it rains, water rolls down the highway and from drains beneath the highway, engorging several homes in the historically Black neighborhood known as Shiloh.
credits : Studies have revealed that Black households are nearly twice as likely as white households to experience flood-related property damage due to the location and condition of their homes. (Courtesy of Shiloh Community Center and the Bullard Center)
