Flood maps broaden insurance requirement

Changes to Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps for Calaveras County could require more property owners to buy flood insurance.

The new flood maps show that various parcels throughout the county, in areas including Vallecito, Valley Springs and Mountain Ranch, are now partially or fully located within a designated flood hazard area, based on countywide geographic information system mapping.
 

 Property owners with a federally-backed mortgage with all or part of their property in a 100-year designated flood hazard area will be required to purchase flood insurance because of the new maps. The requirement is left up to lenders, who are expected to widely implement the requirement.

According to FEMA, the approximate current flood insurance rate through its program, if purchased prior to Sept. 29, is $350 for the first year’s coverage, including buildings and contents. It is $900 for each year thereafter, subject to annual adjustments for inflation, and covers only buildings, not contents.

Insurance purchases made after Sept. 10 will be charged at a rate of about $1,800 annually, and would cover only buildings and not the contents, even during the first year of coverage.

The Calaveras County Planning Department is working with FEMA to inform affected property owners and communities by scheduling two public meetings next week to provide an opportunity to ask questions directly of FEMA and county staff.

The review process for the new maps has taken the past couple of years, said County Flood Coordinator Dave Pastizzo, and included “700 river miles of new flood plain in the county.”

The vast majority of those miles are in uninhabited upcountry lands, mostly owned by Sierra Pacific Industries and the U.S. Forest Service, Pastizzo said.

As for the remaining area, Pastizzo said the county has not yet done an analysis to determine how many home and business owners might be affected by the new insurance requirement.

For more information, call Pastizzo at 754-6394, or visit the following FEMA Web sites:
    • General flood insurance program information: www.floodsmart.gov/
    • Flood insurance maps: www.msc.fema.gov.