GREENBRIER COUNTY, W.Va. (WVDN) – FEMA has created new flood maps that will become effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) on July 5. It is important for citizens to be informed of how these new maps will affect them and their property.
Flooding can be the most frequent and costly disaster in a community, as it is in this state and nation. The likelihood of inland and riverine flooding changes over time due to erosion, changing land use, changing weather patterns and other factors. The risk for flooding can vary within the same neighborhood and even between adjacent properties, but nobody is exempt from flood risk – where it can rain, it can flood. Knowing one’s flood risk is the first step to flood protection.
A multi-year project to reexamine Greenbrier County flood zones and develop detailed digital flood hazard maps has been completed. The new maps, also known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), were recently released for public view. The new maps reflect current flood risk based on the latest data and a more accurate understanding of our area’s topography. As a result, property owners throughout Greenbrier County will have up-to-date, Internet-accessible information about flood risk to your property.
The maps that were recently released are still preliminary, which means they provide an early look at a property’s projected flood risk. Property owners can determine where their property falls on the preliminary maps online by visiting the WV Flood Tool (https://mapwv.gov/flood) and entering their address in the search bar.
Whether or not one’s property falls within a flood zone, it is important for property owners to use this time to understand flood risk and research their flood insurance options. Once FEMA considers the preliminary maps final, they will become effective, which means they will be used to determine properties’ flood risk as well as flood insurance requirements. Greenbrier County’s effective map date will be July 5.
Contact the Greenbrier County floodplain manager Kelly Banton at 304-647-6689 ext. 0 or kelly.banton@greenbriercounty.net for more information.
