BERLIN—Nearly half of the property parcels that are currently
required to carry flood insurance in Berlin and Ocean Pines will no
longer be required to do so, if preliminary flood insurance maps
proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are implemented.
FEMA
is proposing changes to its flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) that will
essentially remove nearly 10,000 property parcels from being included in
classified flood zones—from the current total of 25,964 parcels to
16,283 parcels (37 percent reduction) under the preliminary proposal.
Neither FEMA nor the county is planning direct notification the property
owners affected by the changes.
According to analysis conducted by
Worcester County and provided to Bayside Gazette, of the 1,991 parcels
in the Town of Berlin shown on the maps, 220 parcels are designated as
being in a flood plain. Under the proposed flood plain maps that total
would shrink to 116 parcels, a 47 percent reduction in the required
flood insurance coverage area.
The county analysis further showed
8,888 parcels in Ocean Pines on the maps. Under the proposed floodplain
maps that total would shrink the required flood insurance coverage area
by 42 percent, from the 6,150 parcels currently designated as being in a
floodplain to 3,553 parcels, according to officials.
Worcester
County officials have posted links to FEMA’s proposed maps on the county
Web site and will host an open house community information meeting on
Jan. 16 from 6-9 p.m. at Stephen Decatur Middle School. Representatives
from FEMA and the county, and a contractor, will attend the meeting to
answer direct questions.
If no delays occur, the digital FIRM for
Worcester County will be published as a replacement to the current flood
map in early 2015.
Bill Bradshaw, Professional Engineer in the
Worcester County Department of Development Review and
Permitting-Building Division, strongly encouraged property owners to
attend the information meeting and to visit the Web site
www.mdfloodmaps.com, to get a clear understanding of their risks,
obligations and options.
Some of the terminology used on the maps
would change as well. Areas that are designated as 100-year floodplains
or 500-year floodplains would be referred to as being in areas with a 1
percent annual chance of flooding in a given year or a .2 percent annual
chance of flooding in a given year as depicted on the preliminary maps,
Bradshaw explained.
Typically insurance is required in the 100 year or 1 percent floodplain areas, he said.
Properties
outside those designated high flood risk areas can also be covered by
flood insurance, but at the option of the property owner, according to
FEMA.
The likelihood for flooding within estimated degrees of
severity are designed to help property owners determine if they should
purchase flood insurance to help mitigate water-based property damage,
should a storm-surge occur, according to a FEMA information brochure.
Standard
homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage and property owners
who purchased their homes through a federally regulated or insured
lender are required to purchase flood insurance if their homes are in
designated high-risk flood areas, according to an information Web site
produced by the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The proposed
maps may represent a degree of financial relief for some property
owners from no longer being required to pay for flood insurance or lower
rates on their properties. Officials expressed concerns that the
proposed designations could lull property owners into a false sense of
security that would lead them to cancel policies that should be
maintained because the potential for flood damage is still a risk.
Landowners need to assess their own situations based their own knowledge of flooding on their properties, Bradshaw advised.
While
the FEMA analysis included historical storm data, analysts had
completed their modeling of the area before last year’s Hurricane Sandy,
which included storm surges, and it did not include data for future sea
level rises, Bradshaw noted.
required to carry flood insurance in Berlin and Ocean Pines will no
longer be required to do so, if preliminary flood insurance maps
proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are implemented.
FEMA
is proposing changes to its flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) that will
essentially remove nearly 10,000 property parcels from being included in
classified flood zones—from the current total of 25,964 parcels to
16,283 parcels (37 percent reduction) under the preliminary proposal.
Neither FEMA nor the county is planning direct notification the property
owners affected by the changes.
According to analysis conducted by
Worcester County and provided to Bayside Gazette, of the 1,991 parcels
in the Town of Berlin shown on the maps, 220 parcels are designated as
being in a flood plain. Under the proposed flood plain maps that total
would shrink to 116 parcels, a 47 percent reduction in the required
flood insurance coverage area.
The county analysis further showed
8,888 parcels in Ocean Pines on the maps. Under the proposed floodplain
maps that total would shrink the required flood insurance coverage area
by 42 percent, from the 6,150 parcels currently designated as being in a
floodplain to 3,553 parcels, according to officials.
Worcester
County officials have posted links to FEMA’s proposed maps on the county
Web site and will host an open house community information meeting on
Jan. 16 from 6-9 p.m. at Stephen Decatur Middle School. Representatives
from FEMA and the county, and a contractor, will attend the meeting to
answer direct questions.
If no delays occur, the digital FIRM for
Worcester County will be published as a replacement to the current flood
map in early 2015.
Bill Bradshaw, Professional Engineer in the
Worcester County Department of Development Review and
Permitting-Building Division, strongly encouraged property owners to
attend the information meeting and to visit the Web site
www.mdfloodmaps.com, to get a clear understanding of their risks,
obligations and options.
Some of the terminology used on the maps
would change as well. Areas that are designated as 100-year floodplains
or 500-year floodplains would be referred to as being in areas with a 1
percent annual chance of flooding in a given year or a .2 percent annual
chance of flooding in a given year as depicted on the preliminary maps,
Bradshaw explained.
Typically insurance is required in the 100 year or 1 percent floodplain areas, he said.
Properties
outside those designated high flood risk areas can also be covered by
flood insurance, but at the option of the property owner, according to
FEMA.
The likelihood for flooding within estimated degrees of
severity are designed to help property owners determine if they should
purchase flood insurance to help mitigate water-based property damage,
should a storm-surge occur, according to a FEMA information brochure.
Standard
homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage and property owners
who purchased their homes through a federally regulated or insured
lender are required to purchase flood insurance if their homes are in
designated high-risk flood areas, according to an information Web site
produced by the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The proposed
maps may represent a degree of financial relief for some property
owners from no longer being required to pay for flood insurance or lower
rates on their properties. Officials expressed concerns that the
proposed designations could lull property owners into a false sense of
security that would lead them to cancel policies that should be
maintained because the potential for flood damage is still a risk.
Landowners need to assess their own situations based their own knowledge of flooding on their properties, Bradshaw advised.
While
the FEMA analysis included historical storm data, analysts had
completed their modeling of the area before last year’s Hurricane Sandy,
which included storm surges, and it did not include data for future sea
level rises, Bradshaw noted.