ITHACA, N.Y. — The municipal review process of the federal government’s proposed flood insurance rate maps has begun, as thousands of local homeowners await their property’s flood insurance fate. Town, city and village officials can appeal errors in the proposed maps until May 1.
The maps determine the degree of flood risk for a given property. They also dictate whether or not a homeowner has to purchase flood insurance and often impact the cost of their premium.
The long-anticipated maps are expected to significantly expand flood zones throughout the county, but particularly in the City of Ithaca, where the proposed maps envelop substantially more property in the western and southern portions of the city than the current maps. Certain areas of Tompkins County fall in riskier flood zones than others, like the city and town of Ithaca, Dryden, Ulysses and Trumansburg. Federal flood maps for Tompkins County were last updated 40 years ago.
Those interested in viewing the dynamic versions of the proposed maps can view them here through FEMA. Every address in the county is searchable to see whether the property lies in a flood zone or not.
The maps are meant to show flood risk, not history, which means even if someone has lived on their property for decades and never experienced flooding, they could still find themselves in a flood zone once the new maps are finalized. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official Thomas Song said more severe weather patterns in recent years are taken into consideration when formulating the maps.
“What we’ve seen with these erratic rain events concentrated over a number of hours, they’re flooding areas that may never have seen water before, or would not be considered a high-risk hazard area,” Song said.
Song addressed the Jan. 25 Tompkins County Council of Governments meeting to prepare municipal officials for the start of the 90-day appeal window.
Song made clear that the municipal appeals process is designed to address errors, not disagreements. Municipalities must hire an engineer to identify potential mistakes and FEMA has the final say.
“There has to be proof or evidence that the flood zones currently shown on the map are wrong,” Song said.
Municipalities can also suggest changes to address outdated naming conventions, new property lines or new developments that have been introduced since the last time the maps were updated.
While municipalities can file appeals to the maps now until May 1, individual homeowners won’t be able to appeal the maps on their own until they are finalized, Song said. Homeowners who wish to appeal will need to hire a surveyor to prove that their house’s ground level is above the flood level on federal maps.
There is no cutoff date for individual homeowners to appeal. If approved, property owners are granted a Letter of Map amendment that legally exempts the property from the flood zone. Learn more about the individual appeal process here.
For property owners who will soon find themselves navigating flood insurance marketplace, Song strongly recommends they “shop around.” Rates can sometimes vary wildly, sometimes by entire orders of magnitude.
“It’s unfortunate that [property owners] have to advocate for themselves,” Song said. “In theory, if you call 10 different agents, you should get the same quote from all 10. But I’m a betting man, and I will bet against that. People have to do their homework, a little legwork, and they should only do business with someone who they feel confident will take care of them.”
While federal law only requires flood-zone property owners with federally backed mortgages to purchase flood insurance, most private mortgage and home insurance companies also require owners to purchase flood policies. Standard homeowner’s insurance policies typically do not cover any damage related to flooding.
Village of Dryden Mayor Michael Murphy asked how flood insurance rates are determined, to which Song said the degree of flood risk for that particular geographical area and local home replacement costs both factor heavily into a homeowners’ flood insurance bill.
Song said there is no national standard, but generally flood insurance rates, like standard homeowner’s insurance, scale with the assessed value of the property.
“Each home’s risk is individualized to that particular house,” Song said.
Policies are available through the federal government under the National Flood Insurance Program, though some property owners might be able to get a lower premium with an approved private insurer.
Song said that while the new maps would likely result in increased costs for property owners who now find themselves in flood zones, the changes are important for future development.
“[The new maps] will affect how your community develops in these areas that are flood-prone or that have high flood hazard risks,” Song said. “They affect your folks, but they can also be used to protect them, to make sure your community is building stronger and smarter.”
The City of Ithaca is pursuing large federal grants to construct flood mitigation projects, like building berms along waterways and dredging parts of Cayuga Lake or the Inlet to better accommodate storm surge.
While these projects will not be completed before the close of the 90-day municipal appeal window, city officials expect the work to greatly reduce flood risk for large swaths of the city on future flood maps — though those projects depend on the federal grants as well.