![]() ![]() ![]() If the property is owned outright, it's optional.īut Bogner said just because someone doesn't live in a flood plain, that doesn't mean water automatically stops at some boundary on a chart. Most mortgage lenders require homeowners to have flood insurance if they live in a flood plain as a stipulation for approval of the loan. "From an insurance point of view, it is important for homeowners and businesses to determine if they are in a flood hazard area since there may be an impact on their insurance rates" since flood insurance has to be purchased separately, said Amy Bogner, deputy director of communications at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation in Tallahassee. The implications of the new maps to property owners in or even near flood zones can be significant. The reflections from the laser system bounce back to the aircraft and pinpoint the elevation levels. Stormwater mapping now is mainly reliant on technology known as Lidar, Joyce said - a combination of laser light and radar techniques that scans the earth with a beam generated from an airplane. Joyce said topography technology was much less sophisticated at the time and was largely reliant on traditional surveying techniques such as elevation measurements on the ground. The new maps are the first change in Jacksonville since the mid 1980s. There's a 0.2 percent likelihood of such a storm occurring in any given year and mortgage companies do not require flood insurance in the 500-year-storm areas. The maps also mark 500-year-storm areas, places that would flood with 15 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. Another such storm happened a year earlier, when several areas of Duval County were deluged with heavy rains, most notably the Beaches. There's a 1 percent chance such an event could occur in any given year - but that doesn't mean they only happen every hundred years.ĭuring Tropical Storm Debby in 2012, several areas of the First Coast sustained heavy flooding because the rainfall was heavier than the 100-year-storm event level. Such storms have 11.5 inches of rain fall in 24 hours. The new system spells out where flood plains are, including detailing areas that would be affected by 100-year storm events. Many lenders require homebuyers to have flood insurance if they're in a designated flood zone. "The more educated you are, the better you are in managing risk." They're more accurate, and they define risk," Joyce said. Related: View the new Jacksonville flooding maps New and more accurate maps detailing areas in Duval County that are most susceptible to flooding have been released, the first revisions to the charts in about two decades.Ĭity Engineer Bill Joyce, who's in charge of organizing the Jacksonville maps, said the changes provide better information on the risk of water damage to homes and businesses. ![]()
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