Swain residents question new flood plain maps
So when the Federal Emergency Management Agency held a community meeting Tuesday (4.22.08), to introduce new, in-process flood plain maps and to talk flood insurance and flood risk with residents, it had a fairly large, and skeptical, turnout.
The federal flood-relief program requires buy-in on a county-to-county basis, and, like any insurance, comes with restrictions to minimize risk. Any changes to flood plains as the government defines them could change the value of properties impacted.
The Smoky Mountain Times covers the meeting here and while reporter Pete Lawson doesn’t clearly outline what’s at stake for Swain property owners, he does give a nice sense of the dynamics of the meeting. Writes Lawson:
[Randy] Mundt [of the N.C. Floodplain Mapping Program] said the purpose of the program was to make flood insurance available, to identify flood risk areas, and to provide a basis for regulation of flood-prone areas. He said that better mapping technology now being used is making maps more accurate.
Alarka resident Shirley White questioned [the accuracy]. “The creek’s never been anywhere near my daddy’s house,” she said.
Well, I’m not looking for trouble with the Feds, but on this point I feel a certain kinship with Ms. White. Creek’s never been anywhere near my daddy’s house, either.
Tags: Smoky Mountain Times (Bryson City)
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