FEMA Shrinks Flood Zones in Four Nearby Counties

Today the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is releasing preliminary work maps for four New Jersey counties heavily impacted by Superstorm Sandy – Hudson, Monmouth, Ocean and Atlantic.

The preliminary work maps for those counties will replace the Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps because they reflect a more precise modeling analysis of current flood hazards, including wave analysis, and a more detailed study of other specific conditions that could affect flood risk.

FEMA is working closely with New Jersey’s local and state officials to provide the most accurate updated flood risk information to those individuals who need it as they make decisions about rebuilding their homes.

Revision of these maps is an ongoing process leading to the final Flood Insurance Rate Maps. The final maps will incorporate previous data and add more details about specific flood risk conditions in communities throughout the state, with a priority placed on those in coastal areas facing the highest risk.

Before Superstorm Sandy struck, FEMA was in the process of updating flood hazard maps for the New Jersey coast.

Soon after Sandy, FEMA released Advisory Base Flood Elevations which incorporated much of the information contained in the study already under way.

Because Sandy had reshaped the coastline, not all the earlier information was applicable. The Advisory Base Flood Elevations represented the best information available at the time, and served as a guide for those who wanted to rebuild as soon as possible.

Additional information about the coastal mapping efforts and Hurricane Sandy recovery can be found on the Region 2 Coastal Analysis Mapping website: http://www.region2coastal.com.

Article from WWW.FEMA.GOV

(Caroline Watts, Realtor with Prudential Fox & Roach in Ocean City NJ, 200 34th Street, 609-254-4756, www.OCNJMLS.com)