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Harris County Flood Control District Hosts More Information Fairs For New Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps
Three Public Information Fairs Remaining
CONTACT:
Lillie Laws
Harris County Flood Control District
713-684-4015
 View press release (PDF, 160KB, 5 November 2004)
November 5, 2004
Following the recent release of FEMA's Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps for all of Harris County, the Harris County Flood Control District, with participation from FEMA, is hosting important public information fairs throughout the county to educate the public, and to explain the new maps and processes to those who may be affected.
Of the original five scheduled information fairs, three are remaining, and all area residents are encouraged to attend. At these information fairs, the public may view the Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps, and attendees are encouraged to ask questions and learn about flood insurance and the FEMA appeals, protests, and map adoption process.
The three remaining Public Information Fairs will be held from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM at the following locations and dates:
Southeast Harris County
Monday, November 8th
5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Texas Chiropractic College, Russell Education Center Auditorium
5912 Spencer Hwy, Pasadena
Northeast Harris County
Wednesday, November 10th
James Driver Community Center
5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
10918-1/2 Bentley, Houston
Southwest Harris County
Thursday, November 11th
Grace Presbyterian Church, Massey-Tucker Fellowship Hall
5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
10221 Ella Lee, Houston
More About the Release of the Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps
FEMA released the new preliminary maps for all of Harris County on October 18. The release of the maps begins the official FEMA public review process that will ultimately result in the Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps being finalized and adopted, which is expected in late 2005.
FEMA will meet with all 35 National Flood Insurance Communities in Harris County. Once these meetings are complete, FEMA will publish two official public notices, ten days apart. The official 90-day appeals and protests period will begin on the date the second notice is published. For more information about filing an appeal or protest, contact your local floodplain administrator or go to www.tsarp.org.
The Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps show the 1% and 0.2% (100-year and 500-year) floodplains and floodways for all of Harris County using newly acquired topographic data and the latest engineering methods and technology. The maps have been developed by FEMA and the Harris County Flood Control District as part of the Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project (TSARP). The floodplain delineations shown on the official FEMA Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps are similar to those previously released by the Harris County Flood Control District as Flood Hazard Recovery Data.
View the Maps Online
The new Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps can also be viewed online at the Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project website www.tsarp.org.
On the website, users can use the Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map Lookup Tool to view or download any map panel by providing an address, zip code, Flood Insurance Rate Map panel number, or by just zooming in on the map.
The public may also view the maps through their appropriate floodplain administrator. A complete list of floodplain administrators is available at www.tsarp.org.
While information about the TSARP effort and the FEMA Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps can be found on the website and will be presented at the public information fairs, the project has also established a telephone number for additional questions at 713-722-7227.
Important Facts
Flood insurance requirements and costs will not be affected until the Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps are finalized.
The current FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Harris County constitute the best representation of where the highest risks of flooding from streams and tidal surge exist. New technologies and engineering methods have allowed for a more detailed understanding of these risks.
More About the Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project
The Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project represents an entirely new study of flooding potential, not an update of old information. As such, it is not correct to characterize floodplain changes as an "increase" or "decrease" in flood risk - it is simply a new understanding of our flood risk. For example, the detail of the ground surface defined by an air borne laser technology called LiDAR is unprecedented and represents a significant difference. The new study also uses new and larger rainfall values based on additional years of rainfall records.
Everyone In Harris County Can Flood… Anytime, Anywhere!
Every portion of Harris County faces some risk of flooding due to the area's flat terrain, clay soils, and intense levels and volumes of rainfall that this region can receive. Intense local rainfall can cause flooding well away from any bayou or creek as water flows over land simply trying to reach a bayou or creek, and severe storms can produce more rainfall than what was used in the computer models to produce the mapped floodplains. During Tropical Storm Allison, roughly 65% of the areas that flooded were outside the mapped 1% floodplain and those areas experienced flooding because of the intense rainfall the area received and the resulting overland flow condition that occurred.
Flood Insurance and Flooding Information
Information about purchasing flood insurance and the National Flood Insurance Program can be found at www.floodsmart.gov.
Historically, about one-third of all flood insurance claims are for buildings located outside the 1% (100-year) floodplain. Purchasing flood insurance is an important way for individuals to protect their financial well being from both identified and unidentified flooding risks.
More information about the history of flooding in Harris County, the evolution of the county's drainage network, and what efforts are being taken to minimize local flooding can be found at the Harris County Flood Control District's website - www.hcfcd.org.
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