FEMA FLOOD ZONE AE REQUIREMENTS UPDATE

FEMA FLOOD ZONE AE REQUIREMENTS UPDATE

For now, the more restrictive of either the 2015 PFIRMs or the 2007 FIRMS are used for building code and zoning purposes, while the 2007 FIRMs remain in use for flood insurance.įor more information on the map update process, visit. In October 2016, FEMA announced that the City won its appeal of the Preliminary FIRMs and has agreed to revise New York City’s flood maps. Consequentially, the City appealed FEMA’s Preliminary FIRMS.

The City’s team found errors in FEMA’s modeling that overestimate the size of the 100-year floodplain and the height of the Base Flood Elevations. To ensure the accuracy of the updated Preliminary FIRMS, the City hired an engineering team to review the maps.

For most areas of the city, the Preliminary FIRMs show a dramatic increase in the size of the 1% annual chance floodplain as well as the height of flooding from the 1% annual chance flood. Prior to this update process, FEMA had not substantially revised the FIRMs for New York City since they were first established in 1983, though the maps were minimally updated in 2007. In 2015, FEMA issued revised Preliminary FIRMS with minor changes. What is the status of the FEMA mapping process?įEMA is in the process of updating the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for New York City and issued Preliminary FIRMs in December 2013 as part of this process. For the latest developments in the mapping process please see section below. FEMA’s FIRMs are created through an extensive mapping process and take into account many factors, including the types and strength of storms that historically have affected the area and the onshore and offshore topography. Each flood zone describes a land area in terms of its risk of flooding. Flood zones are land areas identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).

Fema flood zone ae requirements