The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 established NFIP as an alternative to providing direct disaster relief after floods.9 9Pub. L. No. 90-448, Title XIII, 1302, 82 Stat. 476, 572 (Aug. 1, 1968). NFIP, which makes federally backed flood insurance available to residential property owners and businesses, was intended to reduce the federal government's escalating costs for repairing flood damage after disasters. Floods are the most common and destructive natural disaster in the United States. However, flooding is generally excluded from homeowners' insurance policies that typically cover damages from other losses, such as wind, fire, and theft."