Is your property in a flood zone?
New FEMA maps take effect in April – insurance cost may skyrocket By Elsa Maxey
T
his month, newly revised FEMA flood maps become official and changes on the flood maps could affect the cost of homeowners’ insurance. Updated digital flood Insurance rate maps required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have been about nine years in the making with intervention by officials in Fort Bend County. The county worked closely with FEMA on the
remapping project, part of a nationwide effort for documenting and charting flood zones nationwide. Cities in the county, responsible for seeing that flood plain management standards are met, are members of the national flood insurance program helping property owners purchase flood insurance. Maps that include designated flood hazard areas prone to flooding are used to determine the cost of a flood insurance policy. “I believe the new flood maps are the most accurate flood maps in the nation,
To determine the flood prone status of a property in Fort Bend County, visit fbcmap.co.fort-bend. tx.us/floodplainmap
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April 2014 H Fort Bend / Katy Business Journal
primarily due to the County and the City of Sugar Land joining forces to fund a LIDAR survey of the Brazos River and Oyster Creek to enhance the accuracy of the flood modeling,” Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert said about the area’s maps. LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a remote sensing method used to examine the surface of the earth and the systems used allow mapping professionals to examine natural and man made environments with precision. Judge Hebert said the study, a “$1.1 million investment, assured an extremely high degree of accuracy in the calculation of the 100 year flood elevations throughout the county.” The FEMA mapping project has changed flood elevations throughout the county, confirms Judge Hebert, but because “the maps were published over a year ago,” some property owners may have appealed their property’s elevation and maybe even won the appeal. “Even now, property owners may request a letter of map revision if they can prove their property elevation is in error,” said Judge Hebert. There are now some property owners in a flood plain without benefit of a levee and these are the ones facing flood insurance premiums of up to 1500% in some cases. This is because the national flood insurance program re-authorization of 2012 ended, which included grandfathering provisions. This problem has been addressed in an amendment to the national flood insurance program called the Grimm amendment, advises Judge Hebert. It passed both houses of Congress and has been sent to President Obama to sign into law.