RALEIGH – On Tuesday, June 27, 2006 the residents of Caswell County and its incorporated communities will have the opportunity to review and ask questions about preliminary copies of new, updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for the county, which is located in the Roanoke River Basin.  The maps will be on display between 12:30 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. at a public meeting in the Caswell County Courthouse Commissioners Meeting Room (2nd Floor), 144 Court Square, Yanceyville, NC.

Digital versions of the preliminary maps for Caswell County Roanoke Basin FIRMs are currently available for public review 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.  Caswell 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 June 27th public meeting provides an opportunity for Caswell 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, N.C. Emergency Management and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) representatives will be available to answer questions about the mapping process, flood insurance coverage, and floodplain management topics. 

Caswell 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 Mike Cusimano, Caswell County Planner, 336-694-9731 ext. 13, or Randy Mundt, Outreach Supervisor with the State Floodplain Mapping Program, 919-715-5711 ext. 119.