Proposed FEMA map could make some Howard residents get flood insurance

Kiersten Hacker, Baltimore SunBaltimore Sun

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is proposing changes to the Flood Insurance Rate Map in Howard County, which could mean some property owners will have to purchase flood insurance.

Changes in the map stretch across the county, with residents who have a portion of their property in the new 100-year floodplain receiving a letter from Howard County. The letters weren’t an indication that their property was in a FEMA floodplain and required insurance, but were intended to make them a “more educated property owner,” Mark Richmond, chief of the county’s stormwater management division said during a Wednesday public meeting.

If a resident’s property sits in certain FEMA floodplain zones and they have a mortgage that’s federally backed, they’ll be required to have flood insurance, Richmond said. If the structure on the property that’s in the floodplain was removed, then flood insurance might not be needed. Much of the decision about whether insurance is required lies with the mortgage lender.

Richmond said FEMA counted more than 83,000 structures in Howard County, and of those, 505 are in a floodplain that requires flood insurance. The county participates in FEMA’s Community Rating System and has a score that allows anyone purchasing flood insurance in the county to get a 25% discount.

As the proposed map moves through the approval process, residents will have until Dec. 28 to submit an appeal if they think there was a scientific or technical error. During Wednesday’s meeting, some residents raised concerns about decreased property values if their property is in a floodplain and changes that might have occurred since the proposed mapping was completed in 2025.

Extending from the FEMA maps, Howard County has its own floodplain mapping, with an engineering firm conducting measurements to ensure the mapping is continuous from the federal maps to the community maps, Richmond said.