Salem’s new flood maps could save residents money

Aug. 16--SALEM -- City leaders are pushing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to trim the boundaries on its flood maps in a way that could affect hundreds of properties around the city.

The revised maps will be presented at an informational meeting scheduled for next month.

When FEMA pumped out new flood maps in 2014, "Salem was hit harder than all the other communities in Essex County," said Tom Devine, a senior city planner.

The map changes affected "almost every ward," Devine said. That map raised what is called the base flood elevation, or the number of feet that flood water is expected to rise in a flood zone, and also added new flood zones.

The consequence of being in a newly drawn flood zone came in the form of added insurance requirements for mortgage holders, according to Devine.

"Anybody who wasn't in (a flood zone) before and ended up in it -- if they have a mortgage, they're legally required to get flood insurance," Devine said. "Anybody who was in it before but had the flood elevation raised up, they may have had their premium go up with the elevation."

About a year later, city officials in Beverly hired a consultant to take a look at the maps and recommend changes for FEMA to act upon.

"That's what prompted us to look at it," Devine said. "We hired the same consultant to do a flood study and prepare proposed revisions."

The result, he said, is that 30 to 35 properties could be removed from flood zones completely. Another 280 "could be partially removed from the flood zone, and about 340 would have either their flood elevation lowered or the flood-zone designation changed from a coastal zone to an inland zone."

Those people would still have to pay for flood insurance if they have a mortgage, Devine said, but their premium could be reduced.

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A long process

The process, however, is bound to get complicated.

Beverly embarked on the process more than a year ago, but it's still not finished, according to Michael Collins, the city's public works director. That's because FEMA is flooded with similar requests, Collins explained.

"Clearly, every single community along the Eastern Seaboard has appealed their maps or filed (changes) like we did. They're not able to keep up with the workload."

Collins said Beverly officials are "very optimistic. We know our science is sound.

"We've been exchanging emails with them for the last year-and-a-half. They're asking us to clarify this or that," he said. "We feel, from the nature of their questions, that they don't seem to be questioning our basic assumptions -- which is good."

The last message from FEMA came sometime in June. Given that the agency promises a 90-day response time, he's hoping that's when the clock started ticking, meaning news could come in September.

Salem, meanwhile, is earlier in the process, just now putting its maps out to property owners. The new maps will be presented at an informational meeting on Monday, Sept. 19, at City Hall Annex, 120 Washington St.

"That'll be our consultant presenting the results of the flood study -- the new maps," Devine said. "There will be a chance to discuss the methodology behind it and what the implications are."

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