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| Name: |
MartynMart
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| Subject: |
FEMA Affecting Flood Insurance
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Date:
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1/15/2010 3:37:24 PM
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The FEMA re-zoning that has caused many of us to have to buy flood insurance (at least until our LOMA is processed) is not restricted to Smith Lake. See the article below complaining about the FEMA re-zoning impact in Califoria.
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From the kind folks who brought you the Katrina debacle (OK, OK, I know! Mother Nature gave us the hurricane that wiped out New Orleans. But it was the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, that largely gave us the debacle part!) now comes a new act that has millions of home owners up in arms -- if not yet water.
Many homeowners are getting notices they must purchase flood insurance for the first time, even though they may live in areas never known to flood....as in, never!
These premiums can cost anywhere from $500 to a few thousand dollars a year. And, in a sweet-heart deal if ever there was one for insurance companies, flood insurance is a requirement for anyone whose mortgage is backed by the federal government. And, yes, more than 50 percent of all mortgages in this country are now guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (who, by the way, ought to be married by now, don't you think?)
FEMA is relying on new maps drawn up to highlight areas that could --- let me repeat that word again, COULD --- get flooded in what is called a once-in-a-100-year storm! ("Just because you haven't experienced a flood in the past, doesn't mean you won't in the future" FEMA helpfuly explains on its floodsmart.gov website.)
According to FEMA, a high-risk area has at least a 1 percent annual chance of flooding, which equates to a 26 percent chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. Because "changing weather patterns, erosion, and development" can affect floodplain boundaries, the agency explains, it has spent the past several years updating its county-by-county flood risk maps.
Still, that's hard for many homeowners to swallow, especially if your typical weather concern is drought, not deluge. Here in mostly dry Southern California, one irate local politico told the Los Angeles Times, "I'm a little bit suspect of FEMA in light of their track record."
Some cities and municipalities across the country are fighting back and, in some cases, FEMA is backing down and delaying or redrawing its maps.
Famous last words on this go to Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks, once chief of the LAPD: "We don't understand how all of this area becomes a flood zone," says he. Yeah, good question, Bernie!
To see if your area is deemed a flood risk, consult FEMA's maps. That is, if you can make heads or tails of them.
Charles Feldman is a journalist, media consultant and co-author of the book, "No Time To Think-The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle." Oh, and he doesn't have flood insurance!
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| Name: |
No Cat
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| Subject: |
FEMA Affecting Flood Insurance
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Date:
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1/19/2010 1:06:02 PM
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Do you know for a fact that your property was previously not in the flood zone per the old 1991 maps?
If you refer back to a post of mine on 7/30 (prior to the new FEMA maps), you'll see my comment that much of the lakefront property on Smith Lake was, by default, in the flood zone. Then and now, a property owner had the ability to apply for a letter amendment to carve out his / her property from that zone.
I certainly can't speak for each parcel & owner on the lake but I suspect that the recent insurance notices may result more from lenders waking up rather than FEMA actually changing your game.
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| Name: |
MartynMart
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| Subject: |
FEMA Affecting Flood Insurance
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Date:
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1/19/2010 8:53:06 PM
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Since Katrina, FEMA has been updating its flood maps under an initiative called "The Flood Map Modernization Program".
The FEMA website say "Flood Map Modernization (Map Mod) is a multiyear Presidential initiative supported by Congress that is directed at improving and updating the Nation’s flood hazard identification maps. These flood maps have been produced and used for 35 years under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), originally for the identification and depiction of flood hazard areas in communities and for setting flood insurance rates."
You can see more info on this at the following url: "http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/mm_mca.shtm"
So, this is not a case of lenders just "waking up". My gripe is that FEMA classified every pice of property bodering on the lake as being in the Special Flood Hazard Area without notifying property owners and giving them a chance to appeal the ruling before it was implemented.
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| Name: |
No Cat
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| Subject: |
FEMA Affecting Flood Insurance
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Date:
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1/21/2010 12:25:41 PM
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Did you look at the 1991 map?
I just looked again at the portion (covers much of Rock and White Oak creeks) of the '91 map that I had downloaded in February 2008 from FEMA's site and I just compared it to the new map on FEMA's site.
While the new map is more detailed and more helpful (which apparently was the primary goal as noted in the link that you provided), it is identical to the old map in that all of the lake and lakeshore property is colored to reflect Zone A, a Special Flood Hazard Area (i.e. the 100-year flood zone).
I'm not trying to defend FEMA and I certainly have no desire to defend any branch of the current administration. However, I really don't think anything has changed.
By default, lakeshore property will typically be zoned A. That should make sense given that the lake "shore" typically hovers between 490 - 514 ft and the 100-yr mark is designated as 524ft. Some portion of your property is in the flood zone. That portion may simply be limited to a vertical 40ft rock cliff but still...
In my 7/09 post, I spelled out various alternatives to property owners. Note that post was written prior to the new maps but the options are still the same.
Good luck.
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| Name: |
Awhummer
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| Subject: |
FEMA Affecting Flood Insurance
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Date:
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5/17/2022 12:15:48 AM
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We recently started construction on Smith lake. The builder did a Survey and staked the house (and porch) above the 524'. The lender contacted the builder stating that the flood company they use (who works with FEMA) considers the house to be in the flood zone. The builder provided the survey to that company and still no agreement. The builder has recently met with the lender and believes there's a 3' difference and he'd just have to move the house (we have excavated already so I take this to mean they would have to do additional excavation). We are waiting to get more details from the builder on the conversation with the lender. Has anyone run into this issue of the survey not really being out of the flood zone? I don't understand why that would be. Before anyone asks, I won't share the builder or surveyor's names. I'm just trying to better understand what we should have done to avoid this or what we can do before we make any additional costly mistakes. Thanks in advance for anyone's insights
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