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New flood maps to be displayed at open house

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Published: December 5, 2009

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Tioga County residents are invited to review the county's new, preliminary flood map at an "Open House" between 4 and 8 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the county office building.

The meeting is being hosted by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which developed the new maps to provide residents with a realistic assessment for their risk for flooding. No public presentation is planned, but floodplain managers and flood insurance experts will be on hand to answer questions about the map and its effect on specific properties. Inclusion in an official flood plain carries a mandatory requirement for flood insurance if the structure has a federally-back mortgage, or a mortgage with a federally regulated lender.

The new flood maps are the result of Map Modernization, a five-year, $1 billion program to provide updated, digitized flood maps for 92 percent of the nation's population.

The "open house" on Dec. 8 will take place in the Hubbard Auditorium at the Tioga County Office Building, 56 Main St., Owego.

While most locations in Tioga County do not have significant changes, the village of Nichols is protected by a levee system that may not meet mapping standards, according to Mary Colvin, acting director of the mitigation division at FEMA, Region II, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. "The fact that the Nichols levee may not provide adequate protection means an increase in the number of flood-prone properties there. We particularly encourage Nichols residents to attend the open house to learn about their new flood plain status and ways in which they can save money on flood insurance," said Colvin.

Tioga County residents can check their flood plain status on the new, preliminary flood map at their municipal offices, or online at www.rampp-team.com/ny.htm.

Background on Map Modernization, the National Flood Insurance Program and 'grandfathering' is available on the FEMA Web site located at www.FEMA.gov.

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1 posted comments

As a taxpayer and an insurance agent I can tell you that this is yet another huge waste of tax money on the government's part. They spent a billion dollars to re-zone more properties into flood zones in order to force more people into purchasing flood insurance coverage which is underwritten by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, not by any insurance carrier. That's right folks, the majority of your premiums go to the government, even if your policy shows the name of an insurance carrier across the top of the policy. So, Obama may not be raising your taxes up-front - he doesn't have to - he's found a "back door". If you are now one of the unlucky people who are being forced to purchase this government insurance policy you are about to get slapped in the face with a HUGE premium for a policy with very little coverage and a whopping deductible (and that's without even adding coverage for your personal belongings). Don't get me wrong, some people are dumb enough to have built their homes in areas that are obviously flood prown and they should be required to carry insurance coverage so that, when they lose their house, they aren't standing there with their hand out waiting for someone else to foot the bill. However, in most cases (at least in this area) homes sit on hills and knolls that are NOT subject to flooding, even though all around them might be. These are the people who are about to get, excuse my language, screwed. Does your property sit on one of these hilltops located in a flood plain, but they're telling you that you must purchase coverage? Get an elevation certificate as proof that your home sits above the flood plain and get it as quickly as possible. It's a pain in the neck to obtain, but worth it in the long run, and make sure that any request to cancel the policy that you were forced to purchase get's processed the same day that you submit your paperwork,because the government DOES NOT backdate any request on these policies. Unfortunately, if you were forced to purchase flood insurance and you subsequently can prove that your home sits above the flood plain, the government will NOT refund your premium for the time that they provided coverage. Good luck everybody!
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Knows the system,  12/05/09 10:08

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