Area Flood Maps will be Updated

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is updating Maricopa County flood-insurance-rate maps, a move likely to put more Valley homeowners in "high-risk" areas that require costly flood insurance. FEMA officials have been meeting with county and city representatives over the past two weeks to talk about changes expected to take effect in 2012. Once properties get the high-risk designation, owners are required to carry flood insurance if they have a federally insured mortgage loan, said FEMA spokeswoman Franchesca Ramos, adding that most mortgages are federally insured. In Maricopa County, the designation would typically add $400 to $800 a year to a homeowner's insurance premium, said Tim Murphy, a manager for the Maricopa County Flood Control District. Murphy said that, over the years, development changes the landscape and new technology allows engineers to be more precise in predicting where runoff will go after heavy rains, prompting the county to continuously revise boundaries for flood-prone areas. The county district has been working on the most recent changes to its flood designations during the past two years and FEMA will use the county's data to update federal insurance-rate maps, Murphy said. The last flood-insurance map was updated in 2005, and the most recent ones are expected to include more areas. Based on the county's studies, most of the changes will be in Valley suburbs: Chandler, Gilbert, north Scottsdale, Buckeye, Surprise and the far north and West Valley. The most populated areas subject to changes are in Gilbert and Chandler. Neither FEMA nor Maricopa County officials would speculate how many homeowners will be affected. It appears from the county maps that the changes will increase the acreage designated as "high-risk" and won't be removing properties that have had the designation since 2005. Ramos said there will be time for public comment and appeals before the new designations are final and mortgage lenders are notified. Any resident can buy flood insurance from a commercial-insurance agency, although those outside floodplains and those without a federally insured mortgage are not required to do so. Those who live in flood zones require extra coverage, which is sold through private agents but backed by the National Flood Insurance Program. Residents can view existing and proposed high-risk flood designations on the Flood Control District's website. The interactive map shows new high-risk areas in red and provides local phone numbers for inquiries. Murphy said it is likely that all the district's suggested flood-zone designations will be included in the new flood-insurance-rate maps. Although property owners won't be required to carry the extra insurance until the designation is official more than a year from now, letters bearing FEMA and National Flood Insurance Program logos were mailed this month to some southeast Valley residents telling them their home is in a high-risk flood area. "This means every day without flood insurance puts the home you live - and your life savings - on the line," the letter reads in part. The mailing was signed by Edward L. Connor, acting federal insurance and mitigation administrator for FEMA in Arlington, Va. It provides a toll-free number, but employees who answer the phone said their function is to put callers in touch with insurance agents, not provide details about the new maps or ongoing FEMA efforts. A check of two addresses that received the mailing showed the properties were near but not in a high-risk flood area and are not in the proposed additions under consideration on county maps. Allstate Insurance agent David Thorpe of Chandler, whose name and phone number appeared at the bottom of one of the letters, said he was unaware of the mailings but recently attended FEMA-sponsored flood training for insurance agents during which they told participants they would get "free advertising" in exchange for their participation. Phone messages left for Connor were returned by his spokeswoman, Harriette Kinberg, who said the mailings are advertisements for the insurance industry under the government's FloodSmart program, designed to persuade people in or near flood zones to buy insurance or resume coverage they may have dropped. They are not linked to the pending map changes. The contracted advertising agency that produces the mailings has multiple criteria for selecting which households get them that may differ from official mapping processes. "Risk determination may not always be up to date compared to recent map changes," Kinberg said Article Courtesy of AZCentral