By Angie Thompson, Senior Reporter
TIFTON — A new preliminary floodplain map set to go into effect for the county September 2010 can be reviewed and commented on by citizens at Wednesday’s Flood Risk Open House. The open house is set for 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the first floor courtroom of the Charles A. Kent Administrative Building, 225 N. Tift Ave.
The current map used by locals, including homeowners, realtors, government officials, mortgage lenders and insurers went into effect in August 1998. Some of the maps in the state are 18-20 years old, said the Georgia Department of Natural Resource’s state coordinator for floodplain management.
Collis Brown said DNR’s initiative to update floodplain maps in all 159 counties was a five-year plan. This is the fifth year of the initiative, which was administered by Congress and is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The nationwide effort is called “Map Modernization,” Brown said.
All properties in the cities of Tifton and Ty Ty and in the unincorporated areas of Tift County can be viewed on the preliminary maps Wednesday. Brown said the City of Omega doesn’t participate in the flood insurance program and is not included on the map. He also pointed out local governments have to join the program for citizens to be able to buy flood insurance.
“In the case of Omega, if there is a flooding event, the only assistance they would be able to receive would be in the case that the president declared a disaster,” Brown said.
Those who attend Wednesday’s open house will be able to determine if their property is considered located in a floodplain on the preliminary map. Some property owners whose land wasn’t considered in the floodplain but is in the floodplain on the preliminary map can learn at the open house whether or not they are required to purchase flood insurance.
Brown said that property owners who took out government-backed mortgages, such as those from Farmers Home Administration, will be required to purchase flood insurance if their property is in the floodplain. Those whose mortgages are conventional loans won’t be required to purchase flood insurance, whether their property lies in the floodplain or not. But, Brown said, some property owners whose land is not considered in the flood plain might want to consider purchasing flood insurance before the new map is implemented next September.
“Now is the time to get flood insurance,” Brown said.
No matter what the case, Brown said flood insurance rates will be cheaper now than when the new floodplain map takes effect next September.
People can view the preliminary floodplain map online at www.georgiadfirm.com, clicking on “mapping project status,” and choosing Tift County in the drop-down list. By clicking on the “public document” section, people can get information on the entire process of flood mapping and insurance-related information.
“This is the fifth year and Tift County is one of 63 counties we are mapping this year,” Brown said. “This is something we are doing all over the state.”
To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.
