Contact: Steve Garrett
Date: November 13, 2006
Phone: 919-715-5711, ext. 118

NEW FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAPS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW IN AVERY COUNTY 

RALEIGH – On Thurs., Nov. 16, the residents and business community of Avery County will have the opportunity to review and ask questions about preliminary copies of newly updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for the Catawba River Basin portion of the county. Avery County is also located within the French Broad and Watauga River Basins; these new Flood Insurance Rate Maps will not become effective for the entirety of Avery County until after maps for all basins are released, expected to be in 2007. The maps will be on display at 1:00 p.m. for viewing with a presentation to follow at 1:30 p.m. in the Avery County Commissioners' Chambers, located at 175 Linville Street in Newland.

Digital versions of the preliminary Avery County Catawba Basin FIRMs are currently available for public review through the Avery County Planning and Inspections Department and also online through 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. Residents who visit the site can access an Address Locator Tool that will help them locate individual properties and see their relationships to mapped flood- prone areas. Other tools are available to assist them with viewing and downloading digital data from the website.

The November 16 public meeting provides an opportunity for Avery County residents to see the results of the advanced digital technology used to create the new flood 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 the new maps will affect floodplain management in Avery County, how the maps can be used to help reduce future losses from flooding, and how flood insurance rates are affected by the maps. Attendees may also see a demonstration of the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Information System. Following the presentation, state and federal emergency management representatives will be available to answer questions.

Avery 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 in 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 Tom Burleson, Avery County Director of Planning and Inspections at 828-733-8204 or Steve Garrett, Outreach Planner with the State Mapping Program, 919-715-5711 ext. 118.