RALEIGH - On Thursday, July 28th the residents of Durham County and the City of Durham will have the opportunity to review and ask questions about preliminary copies of new, updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the portion of the County, which is located in the Cape Fear River Basin.  The maps will be on display between 6:00 ? 6:30 PM for viewing and the presentation will begin at 6:30 PM in the Council Chambers located at 101 City Hall Plaza in Durham. 

Digital versions of the preliminary maps of the Durham County Cape Fear and Lumber Basin FIRMs are currently available for public review by contacting your local Planning and Inspections Department and by using the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Information System.  A link to this system is provided on the website of the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program: www.ncfloodmaps.com.  Durham County residents who visit the site will find an Address Locator Tool to help them locate individual properties and see their relationship to floodplains.  Other tools are available to assist them with viewing and downloading digital data from the website.

The July 28th public meeting provides an opportunity for Durham County residents to see the results of the advanced digital technology used to create the new maps.  County and municipal officials will be on hand to help residents locate particular properties on the maps and determine their level of flood risk.  Representatives from the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program and North Carolina Floodplain Management will make a short presentation on the map production process, features of the new maps, and how they can be used to reduce future losses due to flooding.  Attendees may also see a demonstration of the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Information System.  Following the presentation, State and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) representatives will be available to answer questions about the mapping process, flood insurance coverage, and floodplain management topics. 

Durham County?s new Flood Insurance Rate Maps were produced by the State of North Carolina under a unique partnership with FEMA.  The partnership agreement, signed September 2000, designates North Carolina as a Cooperating Technical State and delegates the primary responsibility for the creation and maintenance of all Flood Insurance Rate Maps to North Carolina.  The effort to remap the state?s floodplains was spurred by the devastation caused by Hurricane Floyd, which flooded large areas of eastern North Carolina and left thousands of people homeless.  This disaster highlighted North Carolina?s vulnerability to natural disasters and the need for accurate, up-to-date floodplain maps. 

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NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information on the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program, visit the Web site at www.ncfloodmaps.com.  More information on the public meeting can be obtained from Gene Bradham, Director of City/County Inspections, at (919) 560-4145, ext. 236.