A study chaired by the secretary of Housing and Urban Development reveals that the penetration of flood insurance in the 24 states affected by Sandy is extremely low. A February 2013 report on the NFIP estimated 15 to 25 percent of properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas in the Northeast were insured for flood losses.

For example, just before Sandy hit, the report notes, only 38,785 residential and business policies were insured in New York City out of the more than 300,000 housing units and 23,400 businesses inundated by the storm surge.

Additionally, the report cites a May 2013 New York Federal Reserve Bank survey of small businesses across New Jersey, New York and southern Connecticut that states only 8 percent of respondents whose firms suffered damage had flood cover.

The task force also exerts pressure on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to improve its efforts to educate citizens and businesses on better preparing for natural catastrophes. The first of these events was a major advertising campaign that got under way last month called “America's PrepareAthon!”

The report implies that government officials must do a better job of educating consumers about the value and availability of insurance products and risk-mitigation measures that will help them deal with the impact of future catastrophes.

The report says FEMA needs to get citizens to understand the hazards most likely to occur in their community; establish with them corresponding protective actions, hazard-mitigation measures and community plans; and practice real-time drills to increase their preparedness.