If you were in the electoral-vote-rich battleground state of Florida for the 2004 hurricane season, there's a good chance that FEMA just threw money at you, even if you weren't in dire need. Maryland, unfortunately, isn't a battleground state and 2003 wasn't an election year, so, as ABC News reported tonight, state residents who suffered flooding that year were screwed by FEMA -- a possible harbinger of what's to come for Katrina victims:

...Flood insurance is available through the National Flood Insurance Program, which is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. More than 4.5 million people pay premiums to be covered up to a maximum of $250,000. Residents have to pay extra to cover household goods.

"My first thing was, 'We have flood insurance,'" recalled Jennifer Dieux of Shady Side, Md. Her home was hit by the Chesapeake Bay flood surge. "It's not going to matter. We're covered. We're going to be fine," Dieux remembers thinking.

Two years later, Dieux and her family are still living in a government-provided camper parked in front of their flood-ruined home, which they cannot afford to fix.

While mold and mildew have spread up the walls to the ceiling, the flood insurance program, which is run by FEMA, only pays to replace those portions actually touched by the storm's water.

Adjusters offered only $44,000 for the necessary repairs. Builders say $115,000 is needed to restore the home to its pre-flood condition.

"We have no savings, nothing," Dieux admits. "We have no way to pay for it."

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Redmer told ABC News that FEMA adjusters systematically low-balled the losses of Maryland flood victims....

Here's the "Flood Insurance: What & Why?" page from FEMA's FloodSmart.gov. It says, "The benefits of flood insurance coverage are many." One of the promised benefits is that the coverage

Compensates for all covered losses

If you're in a traditionally blue state, apparently not.

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ER...: Yeah, Floridians got screwed by FEMA, too:

..."The initial shock's over," said Richard Amell, who has been living in a camper with his family for eight months while they fight with insurance companies and the government to repair a northwest Florida home that Hurricane Ivan blew apart....

Amell had insurance, but he received just $150,000, far below what he believes he lost. He was denied assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and hired an attorney to fight his insurance company....