How will new federal flood maps along the Mouse River impact people living along the river?
Top officials from FEMA are in Ward County this week trying to provide answers to that question.
Jim Olson is live in Minot to tell us about some big changes.
So what has changed? It’s FEMA’s assessment of how high the water is likely to get, once every 100 years – that’s the 100 year flood plain.
Let me show you.
Let’s say the river would flood your house at 3,000 CFS.
But for the past few decades, your house has been protected by the city’s FEMA-certified levee system to 5,000 CFS. That’s why you’ve not needed flood insurance – or had a very low rate if you did buy it. You’re low risk.
Now, FEMA has recalculated the 100-year flood plain level – it’s not 5,000 FCS, but 10,000 CFS.
That means every 100 years, the existing levees will be worthless, moving you into a high-risk zone according to FEMA.
That’s why you’ll need to buy flood insurance beginning next year when the new flood plain map takes effect.
There’s a public meeting all day Wednesday at the Auditorium in Minot – from 10am to 8pm.
You’ll be able to see the exact location of your house in the flood plain – and talk with insurance experts about what it’ll mean to you.
Tomorrow, the FEMA officials will be meeting with local realtors and insurance agents to brief them on the impact of the flood map changes.
The bottom line is people whose homes get moved into the high risk area of the flood map will see increases in their flood insurance costs.
