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Revised Flood Maps Available

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MIKE SALINERO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 20, 2007

TAMPA - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has updated Hillsborough County's flood maps, outlining areas where federal flood insurance will be required.

The revised maps can be seen on the county's Web site at www.hillsboroughcounty.org.

The maps reflect modifications made based on appeals and protests to the county and the Federal Emergency Management Agency from December 2006 through February.

The revised maps reflect about 35 subdivisions where information indicated the areas should return to low-risk flood designation. Small areas near Plant City and Dover have slightly more land ranked as high-risk based on newer information that shows a higher chance of flooding.

Also, there were about 100 single-family homeowners who are now known to have some portion of their property in the high-risk area; they will receive notification from the county next month.

Flood hazard maps, also known as flood insurance rate maps, identify areas of high, moderate or low flood risk. They provide base flood elevations, which is the level that floodwaters have a 1 percent chance of reaching in any given year. FEMA requires property owners in high-hazard areas to buy flood insurance if they have a federally backed mortgage.

FEMA required local governments around the country to modernize flood maps to better reflect current risks, including areas that have seen recent growth.

The county released the preliminary maps in November 2006 and held a series of public meetings and open houses to let residents review the maps. Property owners were able to protest the changes if they had evidence the maps were incorrect. The county received 2,100 protests; about 2,000 were recommended to FEMA for approval.

Altogether, about 10,000 structures were added to flood hazard areas after the maps were redrawn. FEMA had proposed adding 20,000 structures to the flood-prone areas, but that number was halved after updated data the county collected was turned over to the federal agency.

FEMA had last updated the flood maps about 25 years ago. After an active rainy season prompted by El Nino in 1996-97 caused major flooding in some areas of the county, the Public Works Department began working with emergency management officials to update stormwater systems and flood maps. The County Commission appropriated $10 million for the new flood studies.

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