New FEMA flood zone changes status of nearly 2,000 properties

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will put in place new flood maps for Cedar Rapids on April 5, maps that will change the flood-risk status of some 1,900 parcels of property.

About half of the 1,900 parcels will move into a more-risky flood classification, either from the 500-year flood plain to the 100-flood plain or from outside the 500-year flood plain into it, reports Sandy Pumphrey, a civil engineer in the city's Public Works Department.

Generally speaking, owners of properties in the 100-year flood plain with federally backed mortgages are required to have flood insurance on their properties, Pumphrey said.

FEMA representatives have noted in presentations to the City Council since the June 2008 flood and Pumphrey noted on Wednesday that those outside the 100-year flood plain and moving into it can now purchase flood insurance at a lower rate based on where they are at on the current flood map, which was developed in 1982.

Pumphrey reported that the new FEMA flood map does not incorporate data from the city's historic 2008 flood into the new map.

The new map, he said, is changing flood plain boundaries nationwide based on changes in topography and on better surveying techniques.

Pumphrey said the boundaries on the 1982 flood map for Cedar Rapids are “fairly simple” compared to the “much more intricate” ones on the new map.

City, state and federal officials will hold an informational session on the new flood map on Thursday, March 11 at the Cedar Rapids Public Library on the lower level of Westdale Mall.