Flood Zone Info
During a recent civic association board of directors’ meeting Bryan Sasser, LSCA director for the North Shore and Edgewater neighborhoods, mentioned the fact that several residents in his neighborhood had received letters from their mortgage company regarding flood insurance. This seems like a timely subject to discuss with the devastation currently being experienced by the residents of Houston, Texas. Having not received a letter myself I did some research online and here’s what I found on the subject.
Checking your own property is simple. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a website that makes the process of reviewing the flood zone maps for Lake Spivey easy to do. The URL is https://msc.fems.gov/portal/search.
One may enter one’s property address and click search. A list of viewable and downloadable documents will be displayed. These documents will list one of three (3) maps; 13063C0089F, 13063C0093F, or 13151C0069D. The second map search method is to forgo the address search and use the Locator Map to zoom-in on the area of interest by clicking the “+” button and scrolling over from the map of the U.S, to Georgia and Lake Spivey. The map numbers will eventually appear. Click on the map number to display the documents. The maps are large image files in png format that have been zipped or compressed for easy download. The file(s) need to be extracted to view. After extracting the file you will be able to open the file and zoom-in to view a specific property. These files are also downloadable from links provided below.
As you can see in the map example below, portions of several properties are in Zone AE. An Zone AE is a the flood insurance rate zone that correspond to the 100-year floodplains that are determined in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) by detailed methods. In most instances, Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) derived from the detailed hydraulic analyses are shown at selected intervals within this zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.
So, the letters from your mortgage company appear to be real. The effective date of the maps listed are all 06/07/2017 meaning that is the date that the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) was entered into force as the official flood map for Lake Spivey. We encourage residents to review the maps on the FEMA website and likewise their insurance coverage. The horror stories out of Houston only reinforce that fact that we should remain informed and vigilant in these matters.
Whether or not docks and outbuildings that are located in the new floodplain map Zone AE require flood insurance is a question that might be up for debate but clearly, whenever a major storm is introduced to a populated area there is potential for property damage.
Checking your own property is simple. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has a website that makes the process of reviewing the flood zone maps for Lake Spivey easy to do. The URL is https://msc.fems.gov/portal/search.
One may enter one’s property address and click search. A list of viewable and downloadable documents will be displayed. These documents will list one of three (3) maps; 13063C0089F, 13063C0093F, or 13151C0069D. The second map search method is to forgo the address search and use the Locator Map to zoom-in on the area of interest by clicking the “+” button and scrolling over from the map of the U.S, to Georgia and Lake Spivey. The map numbers will eventually appear. Click on the map number to display the documents. The maps are large image files in png format that have been zipped or compressed for easy download. The file(s) need to be extracted to view. After extracting the file you will be able to open the file and zoom-in to view a specific property. These files are also downloadable from links provided below.
As you can see in the map example below, portions of several properties are in Zone AE. An Zone AE is a the flood insurance rate zone that correspond to the 100-year floodplains that are determined in the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) by detailed methods. In most instances, Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) derived from the detailed hydraulic analyses are shown at selected intervals within this zone. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply.
So, the letters from your mortgage company appear to be real. The effective date of the maps listed are all 06/07/2017 meaning that is the date that the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) was entered into force as the official flood map for Lake Spivey. We encourage residents to review the maps on the FEMA website and likewise their insurance coverage. The horror stories out of Houston only reinforce that fact that we should remain informed and vigilant in these matters.
Whether or not docks and outbuildings that are located in the new floodplain map Zone AE require flood insurance is a question that might be up for debate but clearly, whenever a major storm is introduced to a populated area there is potential for property damage.
