NEW FEMA MAP CHANGES SHOW INACCURACY OF FLOOD MAPPING
In October 2018, category 4 Hurricane Michael made landfall in the panhandle area of Florida and caused approximately $25 billion in damage. With winds topping at 155 miles per hour, Hurricane Michael produced storm surge of up to 18 feet, which created major flooding in some areas.
One of the hardest hit cities from Hurricane Michael was the community of Mexico Beach, which suffered a loss to 70% of its buildings. Eighty percent of these were in a FEMA designated “X” zone, which is considered a “low-to-moderate” risk area. The residents and commercial property owners of Mexico Beach, (and all of FEMA’s participating communities), rely on FEMA maps to provide an accurate assessment of flood risk. FEMA flood zones are also the deciding factor for mortgage lenders when it comes to requiring flood insurance for new loans; a property in an “X” zone does not require flood insurance.
Prior to Hurricane Michael, FEMA had last remapped Mexico Beach in 2009 and the area was overdue for a new evaluation - FEMA is supposed to evaluate their maps every 5 years. The outdated maps in place during Hurricane Michael did not account for any recent land development or climate change, two factors that have a substantial effect on flooding.
Following the devastation in the panhandle, FEMA proposed a change to the area’s flood maps, but in the wrong direction. The new maps would rezone those few properties that were in high-risk zones when Hurricane Michael hit, and move them to zone “X”. The proposed switch would make it voluntary for these property owners with mortgages to have flood insurance, leaving them unprotected in homes and businesses that previously had major flooding.
The unfortunate situation in the panhandle is not the first time FEMA maps have failed property owners. Hurricane Harvey, which hit the Houston area of Texas in 2017, caused severe flooding damage to homes in “X” flood zones. Only 20% of flood victims in Houston had flood insurance.
FEMA’s new flood map proposal for the panhandle area is a perfect example of why it’s important for property owners to pay attention to these map changes, as well as the age of the existing maps in their areas when considering the risk of flooding.