Rep. Brian Higgins scorns FEMA flood zone maps for Cayuga Island

Jul. 16—The Federal Emergency Management Agency should scrap its new flood maps for Cayuga Island in Niagara Falls, Rep. Brian Higgins said Thursday.

After receiving complaints from residents of the island, separated from the rest of Niagara Falls by the Little Niagara River, Higgins wrote to FEMA urging the agency not to increase its projections of flood risk for the island.

The new maps placed 98 more structures into the high-risk zone where flood insurance is required, but 44 others were deleted, a FEMA statement said.

Higgins said FEMA's study ignores the ability of American and Canadian hydropower plant operators to reduce the river's water level by as much as 4 feet. But FEMA said it was concerned about the impact of high wind events on generally high water levels.

Higgins' letter contended that FEMA's study assumes a water level 1 to 2 feet higher than the all-time Cayuga Island record, set in a 1955 flood.

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