RALEIGH – On Wednesday, October 26^th the residents and business community of Lee County will have the opportunity to review and ask questions about preliminary copies of newly updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for the county.  Lee County is contained entirely in the Cape Fear River Basin.  The maps will be on display between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. for viewing and brief presentations about the maps will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the West End Conference Room of the Sanford Municipal Building, 225 East Weatherspoon Street, Sanford, NC. 

The October 26^th public meeting provides an opportunity for Lee 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 short presentations on the map production process, features of the new maps, how they can be used to reduce future losses due to flooding, and their connection with flood insurance and floodplain management.  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. 

Lee 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 by contacting Marshall Downey with Sanford/Lee County Community Development, 919-718-4656 ext. 5395 or Steve Garrett, Community Development Planner with the State Mapping Program, 919-715-5711 ext. 118.