Beaufort County still has decades-old flood maps. Here’s why it matters.
More than 50,000 property owners in
Flood maps are important because flood zones determine insurance rates, which can be pricey in a place like
An analysis of federal flood insurance premiums by the newspapers found that new maps have led to savings in some S.C. counties.
Of the the state's 46 counties, 37 have received new flood maps. The remaining counties, except for
"It wasn't intended (for
"I try to give them the best answer I can," Bayyoud said.
Yet, the timeline for
"I was supposed to get (the preliminary map) last March, then last July, then this month," Bayyoud said in October. "We've been hearing the preliminary (map) will be released since 2012. Now we hear 2017."
When interviewed in September, Lamm projected
"Spring 2017 is probably the best estimate I can give right now for
Any revisions to the preliminary map will take at least a year, Lamm said in October, so the final version should not be expected until at least 2018.
Meanwhile, neighboring
"They (
New maps, lower insurance costs?
Buying flood insurance often is required, and always encouraged, in low-lying areas.
Remapping tends to move more people out of a flood zone, which usually means lower flood insurance premiums for them, Lamm said.
? Eleven of the 27 counties saw average flood insurance premiums decrease.
? Sixteen of the 27 counties saw average flood insurance premiums increase, but 10 counties saw less than a 10-percent increase.
? Six counties' average flood insurance premiums decreased by more than 10 percent.
Meanwhile,
There's no guarantee, however, that
In
If
In a county like
Feds:
The new flood maps for
"It's like going to the doctor," said
The last official flood maps for
"You end up with swiss cheese maps," Lamm said. She used the analogy of holey cheese to explain how older maps piece together towns and cities, making interpretation difficult because of the overlap.
While insurance agents are working with county maps literally in tatters, more than half of the state's other counties received new flood maps in the last six years, and a second round of new maps have been started for 14 counties over the past two years, Lamm said.
That's because the
Lamm said her agency is starting the watershed-mapping project while trying to finish the county-by-county flood maps. She acknowledged that will allow a second round of new flood maps in certain counties while
"That's the way (federal) funding comes," she said. "You don't finish one (project) before you start another one."
Lamm said, however, she was unaware of any remapping task on hold in
A decade of delays
But 11 years have passed, and still there are no new maps.
One reason for the delay involved errors in a new storm-simulation technology that had the wind moving in the wrong direction, Lamm said. The model had to be re-run.
County officials are frustrated by the delays but understand the difficulty
"Things come from
Neighborly lessons
Despite the delays,
"Any state on the
However,
"Flooding is an issue regardless (of where you live)," Blaize said, "but coastal counties have more vulnerabilities due to the coastal impacts."
About half of the Peach State, mostly low-population areas, hasn't been remapped, Blaize said.
"We prioritized the metro areas and coast," he said. "It's a balancing act."
And Lamm's timeline might be somewhat optimistic, said
Lamm insists new maps for
"It's not an overnight occurrence to produce a map," she said. "While it's taken 10 years, it's all been to get a better product. We promise they're coming."
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