RALEIGH - On October 17th municipal leaders and citizens of Beaufort 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 the county located in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin. There will be two separate meetings for the purpose of introducing these maps. The first meeting will be for the officials (municipal, state and federal leaders along with the administrative staff who administer information from the maps) who represent Beaufort County. The first meeting, specifically for the officials, will take place in room 154 at the Department of Social Services located in Washington, North Carolina. The meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. and last until approximately 2:00 p.m.

The second meeting, specifically for the public and special interest groups, will take place at the Beaufort County Community College Continuing Education Auditorium located on US 264 in Washington. This meeting will start at 6:00 p.m. and last until 8:30 p.m. The Beaufort County Planning Department is hosting the public meeting.

Each 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.

These meetings provide leaders and citizens of Beaufort County 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 communities in Beaufort County 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, which were delivered to Beaufort County and municipality officials on September 30th, were 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.