Homeowners need to pay close attention, because their insurance rates might change, according to a FEMA official.
Wednesday night, a standing-room-only crowd of Upper Bucks County residents packed Tinicum's municipal building to get a first look at the proposed revisions to the flood insurance rate maps and the National Flood Insurance Program.
The changes will affect homeowners' flood insurance rates, and even require some to buy a flood insurance policy for the first time, said Dave Bollinger, a Federal Emergency Management Agency regional mitigation coordinator.
Wednesday's meeting was co-hosted by FEMA and Bucks County Planning Commission officials.
A homeowners insurance policy does not include coverage for flooding, said Bollinger.
And if your home is damaged in localized flooding, and not in an area declared a national disaster, you will be on the hook for all the costs if you don't have flood insurance.
Under the National Flood Insurance Program, homeowners who live in a flood hazard area -- where there's a 1 percent chance or greater that flooding could occur in any given year - must buy a flood insurance policy if they have a federally-backed mortgage.
Passed by Congress, the program stipulates that if a community practices sound flood plain management, the federal government will offer flood insurance to its residents through a partnership with private insurers.
Wednesday night, Bollinger urged all residents to purchase a flood insurance policy.
"Anyone who lives in a community, whether they are in a special flood plain area or if they live at the top of a mountain, you can buy flood insurance," he said. "Risk isn't what happened yesterday. It's what could happen tomorrow. We're seeing larger and larger rainfalls in watersheds."
The Federal Emergency Management Agency last revised its flood hazard maps roughly 20 years ago.
Since 2003, FEMA has been in the process of updating its maps, nationwide.
Over the years, the flood hazard zones have changed as streams and rivers move back and forth across floodplain over time and development increases, both upstream and downstream.
In our region, the preliminary flood zone configurations also include new studies for the Delaware River and Pennypack Creek watersheds.
And in recent weeks, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee have been a grim reminder of the powerful force of Mother Nature. Some homeowners in our area experienced major flooding, and are still working through the claim process with FEMA, to recoup some of the costs?related to cleaning up the immense damage.
Of natural disasters, flooding is the number one killer in the U.S. It is also the top destroyer of structures and properties, and the highest disaster cost to taxpayers, said Bollinger. It's also the least insured of all the natural disasters.
"As humans, we don't ever think anything bad is going to happen to us," he said.
"During a 30-year mortgage, homeowners located in a high flood zone area have a 26 percent chance of experiencing flood damage," said Bollinger.
Draft maps are available for viewing at the Bucks County Planning Commission, Conservation District, and Emergency Management offices and every municipal office.
Bucks County has comparison maps online at http://gisweb.co.bucks.pa.us/FloodPlainViewer.
Residents can find their homes in relation to where the new and old flood hazard areas are.
The new, digital maps are expected to become effective in December 2012.
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Source: http://news.tradingedgemaster.com/new-flood-hazard-maps-will-impact-insurance-rates-phillyburbs-com/
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