Millions of Floridians could soon find themselves without crucial flood insurance in the middle of hurricane season.

Senate lawmakers have until Tuesday to extend the National Flood Insurance program. Lawmakers in the House approved an extension earlier this week.

A lapse would not be unprecedented.

The federal program, which provides flood insurance for more than 5 million homeowners, went without authorization for a month in summer 2010. During that time, an estimated 1,400 home-sales closings were canceled or delayed each day, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Florida impact

In the worst case scenario that Congress misses the July 31 deadline to extend the program, homeowners in Florida face two major impacts.

For new homeowners looking for coverage, they'd have to wait for a fix before the program could issue any new policies. This means home buyers whose lender requires flood insurance could be unable to close on the purchase if they have no policy options.

Homeowners who already have policies through the FEMA-run program would not be able to renew. However, policyholders get a 30-day grace period, so they would at least have coverage for a month after their policy ends.

The program has paid out a whopping $1.1 billion in Irma-related claims to policyholders in Florida. The average payout to a homeowner is just under $50,000.

There are 1.7 million National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in Florida.

Here in Tampa Bay, a big chunk of those policy holders live in Pinellas County.

Following the House's approval to temporarily extend the program through November, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-St. Petersburg, urged his colleagues in the Senate to immediately do the same.

"Allowing the National Flood Insurance Program’s authorization to lapse would devastate communities like Pinellas," he said in a statement.

What about reforms?

But if the extension is approved, it's nowhere near the serious overhaul many argue is what this program needs.

Advocates of reform say it should include changes allowing private insurance coverage to satisfy insurance requirements for a mortgage.

Right now, homeowners can actually be penalized for dropping their National Flood Insurance policy to go with a private insurer because it's viewed as a lapse in coverage.

There's also a push to lower the cap on annual premium increases and to make it easier to end coverage for properties that flood over and over again. But there is sharp disagreement about whether the government should put up money to buy them out or if premiums should just be raised to the point that owners move away.

The temporary extension makes none of those changes.

While much of the gridlock in Congress is driven by partisan or ideological issues, the flood program is focused more on geography, with the states having the most policyholders represented by both Democrats and Republicans. Indeed, the No. 1 state, Florida, has one senator from each party.

"Looking past this short-term extension, we have got to get serious about a thoughtful and comprehensive long-term reauthorization that addresses sustainability, accessibility, and affordability," Crist said. "It's long past time for Congress to get affordable flood insurance done for the people."

Here's something else you're going to want to pay attention to if you own a home in Pinellas County.

If you live in Pinellas County, you'll want to check new flood maps

FEMA has released a new preliminary flood map which would be used to assess your risk and insurance rates.

It has been almost 10 years since FEMA revised the flood hazard maps. The preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is based on updated coastal modeling.

You can look up your risk to see how this could potentially affect you on the county's website.