Arizona County and FEMA Try to Fix Flood Map Errors

November 30, 2010

Arizona’s Mohave County Flood Control District is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fix errors the county found in flood insurance maps.

The district has been working with FEMA since 2004 to update previous maps completed in 1982.

New maps were finished in January 2008, but county flood control personnel found several errors.

Flood maps help local governments administer flood plain regulations and help insurance agencies set flood insurance rates.

Mohave County officials have been collecting new topographical data and aerial photography. So far, the county has about 300 square miles of data.

County officials also began a Geographical Information System accuracy project in April to increase the accuracy of the county’s GIS maps in reference to FEMA’s digital maps.

Inaccurate maps can make a difference in insurance rates, as Golden Valley resident Margaret Wene found out when her insurance company earlier this year told her she was no longer eligible for a preferred rate since her home was now in a flood zone.

Wene’s annual flood insurance payment went from $326 to $1,397 a year and her insurance deductible went from $500 to $1,000.

County Development Services Director Nick Hont said the county is attempting to work with FEMA and Wene to resolve the issue.

The county also is working with FEMA to study watershed areas in Mohave Valley, Golden Valley, north of Lake Havasu City and north of Kingman for map errors and to identify areas that have flooding problems and those that might need improvements to prevent flooding.

FEMA has allocated $350,000 to the county to fix flood plain maps in the Mohave Valley area and plans to study areas in Golden Valley and north of Lake Havasu in the future.

The county will submit data to FEMA for areas most impacted by map errors.

County officials said it can take from several months to up to three years before changes will be recorded on the county’s maps.

Topics Flood Arizona

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