FEMA Launches Website With Interactive Flood Maps
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Following superstorm Sandy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency adjusted flood maps across the Tri-State Area.
The World Trade Center site is now in a flood zone, along with parts of Chelsea and the East Village, according to the redrawn maps of New York City.
The new maps are posted online at region2coastal.com and were already in the works before Sandy hit in late October. Some modifications were made in response to the storm.
New Yorkers can now type in their address to see if their home has been added to the amended FEMA flood maps.
"In the Rockaways, there were some areas that were added. Lower Manhattan, there were some areas actually taken out but there were also some areas added," said Philip Parr with FEMA.
FEMA Launches Website With Interactive Flood Maps
The modified maps are now complete for all of New York City. Last month, FEMA released maps for portions of Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn.
Parr is helping coordinate the federal agency's response to Sandy in New York and said there are some homes that cannot be elevated.
"So as an example, people will have to make a decision whether or not they want to give up their basement. And that might raise their first usable floor to at or above the base flood elevation," Parr told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.
Homes in the new zones could be socked with higher insurance rates if homeowners do not make the necessary repairs to qualify, Diamond reported.
The city is working with federal officials on regulations for vulnerable skyscrapers along the water.
"Clearly, it's not practical to take a 50-story building or even a 13-story building and elevate it," Deputy Mayor For Operations Caswell Holloway told Diamond.
Base flood elevation information is also available for Westchester County and Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union Counties in New Jersey by clicking here.
Please offer your comments below...
