20 properties in East Stroudsburg would be affected by new flood hazard zone

Dec. 21--A couple dozen additional properties in the East Stroudsburg area will likely be added to the Federal Emergency Management Agency flood hazard zone near the Brodhead Creek levee.

"It's possible they might be required by their mortgage company to get flood insurance," East Stroudsburg Borough Manager Jim Phillips said.

The proposed expansion includes about 20 properties in East Stroudsburg, two in Stroud Township and a few others in Stroudsburg. The expanded flood zone resulted from a recent certification process for the levee, built along the Brodhead Creek in the early 1960s following the deadly 1955 flood.

"FEMA required surveying the levee to make sure it's actually protecting to the elevation it's supposed to," Phillips said.

The main levee between Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg was fine, he said. But a couple of areas just outside the levee -- including locations of flood gates, storm pipes and shut-off drains for the levee system -- don't appear to provide the minimum required protection from water that could back up.

This includes a couple of properties at the end of Walnut Street, towards the Little League and football stadiums, and a couple of properties on Washignton Street near Dansbury Park. One property off Lincoln Avenue, near Walmart, also is planned for flood zone inclusion.

Two Stroud Township properties -- including a vacant county-owned property near the end of the levee system -- are proposed for addition to the federal flood zone map.

All impacted property owners have been notified by letter.

A 90-day deadline to appeal FEMA's proposed revised flood map begins Dec. 28. "Any request for reconsideration must be based on scientific or technical data," according to the FEMA website notice.

Anyone appealing the new map boundaries should contact the local municipality, which will contact the FEMA engineer assigned to the map revision, a FEMA Mitigation Division official said.

If all goes as planned, the expanded flood zone will go into effect May 2.

___

(c)2015 the Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Visit the Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, Pa. at http://www.poconorecord.com/

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.