News

November 5, 2009

Official: Better flood maps coming

National Flood Insurance Program coordinator explains advantages in Shickshinny.

SHICKSHINNY – New and improved flood maps are on their way for Luzerne County municipalities.

The user-friendly maps, which were scheduled to come out in October, will give a more accurate representation of floodplain areas, Dan Fitzpatrick, state coordinator for the National Flood Insurance Program, said Wednesday.

“These new ones are going to be based on aerial photography,” said Fitzpatrick, a policy specialist who spoke about the map-modernization process to borough residents at a town meeting.

Although the aim of the project is to get revised flood maps out to every municipality in the county, Fitzpatrick said delays are occurring.

The current maps are about 25 to 30 years old, Fitzpatrick said. The improved maps are much more detailed than the topography maps available before.

“You’d be able to actually look at it from a resident’s standpoint and pick out your structure,” Fitzpatrick said about the new maps.

Eleven properties in the flood zone of Shickshinny are being torn down through a flood-mitigation project, said borough Councilwoman Francene Tearpock-Martini. Other properties are expected to be elevated so they won’t be exposed to flooding.

Fitzpatrick, also a lead emergency preparedness liaison officer to the state Emergency Management Council, said the new maps will show a floodplain overlaid on aerial photography.

The improved maps also would give a better representation of what impact levees will have on properties along the Susquehanna River.

Borough residents will be able to take a look at the new maps to see if they are in the floodplain, said Fitzpatrick, who has provided technical assistance to more than 2,400 municipalities statewide that belong to flood-protection programs.

Some of the houses that might previously have been in the floodplain might not be now, depending on the improved maps, he said.

Municipalities will have 30 to 40 days to look at the maps. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will then have a final meeting before a 90-day appeal period, Fitzpatrick said.

A letter of final determination from FEMA would be issued before the maps become effective. The entire process is expected to take about a year.

Municipalities must have a fully compliant ordinance in place to benefit from subsidized flood-protection programs, he said.

“We’ll be working with all the municipalities in Luzerne County for the next year,” he said.

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