RALEIGH - On August 27th, municipal leaders of Hoke County will have the opportunity to review and ask questions about the preliminary copies of the new, updated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for the portion of Hoke County located in the Lumber River Basin. The meeting will take place at the Pratt Building, 227 N Main Street in Raeford, NC. A contact number for directions is 910-875-8751. Municipal, state and federal leaders are invited to attend the sessions, which start at 10:00 a.m. and last until 2:30 p.m. There will be a break for attendees to leave and return for lunch. The meeting is being hosted by the Hoke County Mapping Department.

The meeting will start with a short presentation by the staff of the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program (NCEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide an overview of the statewide re-mapping effort. Following the presentation, county, NCEM and FEMA representatives will be available to answer detailed questions and concerns about the mapping process, flood insurance coverage and floodplain management. State, county and municipal officials as well as their staff are encouraged to attend this meeting.

This meeting provides Hoke County leaders an opportunity to see the results of advanced digital floodplain mapping technology used to create the new maps. During the sessions, meeting attendees will receive information on the map production process, features of the new maps, the values and benefits of the new maps, and how the new maps can be used by the town of Raeford to reduce future losses due to flooding. Attendees will also see a demonstration of the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Information System. The Floodplain Mapping Information System will give local officials and the general public access to the new maps via an Internet web site. Members of the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program staff will address the questions on technical aspects of the project, insurance implications, and how to use the new maps.

The new maps will be mailed to Hoke County prior to the Preliminary Meeting (August 27th), and are the first of many to be produced and issued by the State of North Carolina under a unique partnership with FEMA. This partnership, 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 re-mapping of the state's floodplains resulted from the devastation caused by Hurricane Floyd, which flooded thousands of square miles 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.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information on the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program, check out the web site at www.ncfloodmaps.com; more information on the Preliminary Meeting can be obtained from Mrs. Cassandre` Haynesworth, Community Development Planner II/Outreach Coordinator - State of NC Floodplain Mapping Program: (919) 715-8000 ext. 282 or chaynesworth@ncem.org.