Last week the U.S. House of Representatives voted for a two month extension of the National Flood Insurance program, which President Barack Obama subsequently signed into law. The Federal Emergency Management Agency measure will allow new contracts for flood insurance to be entered through July 31, 2012, and money from the Treasury – up to certain specified amounts – to be borrowed.

David Miller, FEMA’s associate administrator for the federal insurance and mitigation division said in an interview with Bloomberg that he was concerned about the effects of short-term extensions and the possibility of a lapse. He added that Hurricane Irene cost close to $1 billion in claims, and a "number of small disasters" may drain the fund sooner than the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of a 2014 default.

According to agency spokesman Lars Anderson, the program is $17.75 billion in debt and has a $20.7 billion credit limit.

Currently, an authorization for the long term is under construction to send to the president, Bloomberg reported. A five-year extension of the program was passed on July 12 of last year and similar language from the bill was included in a budget measure passed by the House on May 10.

Making sure that your business is properly insured is an important and necessary step to take against natural disasters, but it is also important to create a business continuity plan, to ensure that everything continues to run smoothly. By pairing with a disaster preparedness consultant, hot sites can be created so employees can continue to earn a living even in the wake of something like a flood or hurricane.