Accurate Flood Maps Save Lives and Protect Property
Release Date: July 3, 2007
Release Number: FNF-07-037
Dear Editor:
Your recent editorial expressed concern about the delay in FEMA's production of flood maps for Mississippi's Gulf Coast. I'd like to assure the residents of Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties that FEMA is committed to producing the most accurate, reliable flood maps as quickly as possible. We intend to get it right, and the process takes time.
Your editorial would have people believe that their very lives are at risk because the maps have been delayed. But a few short months after the storm, FEMA furnished Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps so that state and local governments could have flood risk information immediately at hand when making recovery decisions.
Most of the Mississippi coastal communities have adopted those maps as interim measures. FEMA worked diligently to communicate the importance of using the ABFEs as a minimum standard for all recovery and rebuilding efforts. We briefed all coastal communities on the benefits of using the ABFEs or a higher standard when making recovery decisions.
Because they incorporate data from Katrina, the ABFEs allow for rebuilding to proceed in a safe and sensible fashion. Until the Mississippi Coastal Flood Study is complete and new maps are available, the ABFEs accomplish the objective of identifying existing and increased flood hazards. The ABFEs represent the best available information for floodplain management.
We did project in November of 2005 that preliminary maps would be available 18 months later. Many factors involved in this challenging study have resulted in schedule adjustments as we learned that more analysis and coordination were required. This difficult but prudent deci- sion of delaying the preliminary maps was necessary to meet our objective of reliable and accurate flood maps.
Until Katrina, a coastal study of this magnitude had never been conducted. To accomplish this, FEMA gathered a team of technical experts in coastal engineering, coastal processes, meteorology, storm statistics and numerical modeling to provide guidance on the best methods and approaches to follow. Again, our objective is to develop accurate and reliable maps.
The preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps are scheduled to be released late fall. The flood risk identified on the new maps will be the most current and accurate flood risk data available. After a 90-day public comment period and a six-month compliance period - the time the community is given to revise their flood plain management ordiances - the maps will become final.
Until preliminary flood maps are complete, FEMA encourages the use of ABFEs for rebuilding, and recommends the purchase and maintenance of a National Flood Insurance policy, especially for those property owners in moderate-to-high risk flood areas. Residents of Mississippi need to prepare now for hurricanes, no matter what the maps show, and that means having adequate flood insurance coverage, a disaster plan and an emergency kit.
For information on the progress of the Mississippi Coastal Study, a Web site (www.mscoastalmapping.com) and call center (1-866-816-2804) have been established for coastal Mississippi property owners. FEMA encourages your readers to use these resources and follow the Mississippi Coastal Flood Study's progress.
Major Phillip May
Regional Administrator
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Atlanta (Region 6)
Last Modified: Tuesday, 03-Jul-2007 13:34:50