City residents to learn new flood hazard zones
FEMA presents revised flood maps of Long Branch area
BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer
In the coming weeks, Long Branch residents could begin receiving letters from local officials stating that they are now living within a flood hazard zone.

City officials, along with members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), presented maps displaying the revised flood hazard zones during a special information meeting at city hall May 19.

Residents who attended the meeting were able to view the revised flood maps and were told by FEMA what options they have should their homes now be considered a part of a flood area.

"What has basically happened in the city is there are areas that have come out of the flood hazard zone and there are areas that have gone into the flood hazard zone," Long Branch Construction Official Stan Midose said during the meeting.

City residents who have an active federally backed mortgage on their home and have been placed in the flood hazard zone with a 1 percent chance of annual flooding must purchase flood insurance for the lifetime of their home mortgage, according to FEMA Natural Hazard Program Specialist Richard Einhorn.

Should the homeowner with an active mortgage be placed in the revised flood hazard zone and choose not to purchase flood insurance, the institution that approved the mortgage will be legally unable to increase, extend or renew the loan.

"There are some key timelines that are in effect for people that have gone into the flood hazard zone to purchase flood insurance at a reduced premium," Midose said.

Themaximumamount of damage a flood insurance policy can cover for a single residence is $250,000, Einhorn explained.

He said that a $150,000 policy for a single residence located within the flood zone will cost approximately $1,100 a year.

Should a resident choose to purchase flood insurance before the revised flood maps are finalized, the same $150,000 coverage will cost a resident $700 annually, according to Einhorn, who said that the federal government regulates insurance rates.

Policies are rated based on a residence's compliance with the construction code and the height of the property in relation to the area's base flood elevation (BSE).

The BSE is the elevation at which a given area has a 1 percent chance of flooding in any given year. It was formerly referred to by FEMA as a 100- year flood.

"We are trying to get the information out as much as possible," Midose said.

Eventually letters are going to go out to everyone that is affected [by the new zoning] prior to any deadline to purchase flood insurance," Midose explained.

City officials will begin discussing plans on how to informall affected residents in the coming weeks, according to Stan Dziuba, head of the Long Branch Office of Emergency Management.

"We want everyone up on this," Dziuba said. "We don't want any surprises for the residents. We want to do the best we can."

Residents who attended theMay 19 meeting were able to view an interactive, preliminary revised flood map, using a special computer program. They were able to determine if their house would be affected by the map change.

According to Einhorn, FEMA will publicly advertise the revised flood maps June 11 and 18. After the revisions are advertised, residents will have a 90-day window to appeal any proposed changes.

"An appeal, as far as FEMA is concerned, is an appeal made based on a base flood elevation discrepancy," Einhorn said.

Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider said, "There seems to be a communication issue between FEMA and the municipalities because the process certainly seems to be condensed in a way that doesn't help the property owner figure out what is going on while he's got rights that he may be able to exercise.

"It seems to me that once you are told that you are in the flood zone, assuming the accuracy of the assessment, what really is going on is you are being offered the right to buy the federal flood insurance, which is much cheaper than private flood insurance," he said.

Schneider continued, "And if you don't get in now, you've got some real problems."

The decision to move a piece of property into the flood hazard zone is based on land elevations and drainage issues and not on whether or not there has ever been flooding at the location, Schneider said.

He explained that the city suffered what many considered a 1 percent or 100-year flood approximately 15 years ago, yetmany of the homes included in the revised maps did not flood during the storm.

The city's flood maps are being revised as part of a mandate from the United States Congress, Einhorn said.

The revised maps were created by FEMA, in conjunction withMonmouth County's geographic information systems (GIS) department using a light detection and ranging system (lidar).

A GIS is a system that collects various forms of statistical data andmaps it according to its geographic location. The lidar system is an airplanemounted device that sends pulses of light to the ground.

The time it takes from when the light pulse is fired until it reaches the ground is then used to calculate the topography of the area it is measuring.

The lidar measurements are accurate to within 6 inches, according to Einhorn.

FEMA officials then combine the data obtained through the use of the lidar system with statistical analyses of records of river flow, storm tides, rainfall, and hydrologic and hydraulic analyses.

"Most of the flood areas are staying the same," Einhorn said. "We've added a little bit and taken away a little bit."