By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

Are you in or are you out?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will release revised flood insurance rate maps for Onondaga County in November, so homeowners will need to see whether or not their properties are located in a high-risk flood zone and determine whether they need to buy flood insurance.

“They need to check [with] their local code enforcement to see whether or not their property is in a flood zone,” said Gregg Humphrey, code enforcement officer for the village of Baldwinsville. “Some properties are in, some properties are out.”

“In many communities across the county, it’s been over 30 years since the last flood map update,” said Andrew Martin, acting chief of risk management for FEMA Region II. “When we use better data and better methods [to revise the maps], sometimes it shows the floodplain is smaller than we thought in the past, sometimes it’s bigger than we thought in the past.”

FEMA’s flood maps show which areas are at the highest risk of the “100-year flood,” or a flood event that has a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year.

“The No. 1 thing I get is ‘We’ve never had a flood the 25 years I’ve lived in this house,’” Martin said of residents’ response to the flood maps. “Here in Syracuse we’re very fortunate that we haven’t had a 100-year flood. It’s not a question of if but when those areas are the most likely going to be hit.”

According to floodsmart.gov, the website of the National Flood Insurance Program, floods are the no. 1 natural disaster in the country. Last year, the NFIP paid out $839 million in flood insurance claims; the average claim is at least $46,000.

“I think it’s really important to understand that the risk is real. When people haven’t seen a flood … they have a tendency to think the risk may not be real or it may not happen,” Martin said. “We want to make sure properties within the floodplain are properly protected.”

Do I need flood insurance?

While the overall number of properties in flood zones across the county has shrunk, some properties may now be in a high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).

“In high-risk areas, there is at least a 1 in 4 chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage,” reads floodsmart.gov.

If your home is now in a SFHA and you have a federally backed mortgage, you will have to purchase flood insurance. If your property used to be in such a flood zone but has been removed, you are not required to buy flood insurance, but FEMA still recommends that you do so.

“We still think it would be wise for them to keep a flood insurance policy,” Martin said. “For those who are not in the floodplain, the policy premiums are much less expensive.”

Martin said there are 75 insurance companies across the country that are authorized to sell flood insurance. Residents whose properties have been reclassified as high-risk can purchase a relatively inexpensive policy that would cover $250,000 in structural damage and $100,000 of the contents of a home in case of a flood — Martin estimated the cost at about $450 per year.

According to floodsmart.gov, the average policy premium for flood insurance is $700.

“People need to know that they can buy flood insurance if they are not in a flood zone,” Humphrey said. “With the types of weather that we’re having, flooding’s happening more.”

Visit floodsmart.gov to learn more about flood insurance and the risk of floods.

How do I know if my home is in a flood zone?

Homeowners can visit FEMA’s Map Service Center to view maps online at msc.fema.gov. The Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency (SOCPA) also has an online map in which you can compare previous and current flood zones. Visit fsihost.com/onondaga/Default.aspx and click “preliminary floodplain” to see the revisions that will take effect in November.

For a more definitive answer, visit your local code enforcement office. Municipalities in Onondaga County will be receiving the new maps in the coming weeks. Local code enforcement offices will have hard copies of the maps and can tell residents where their properties fall.

FEMA’s Map Information Exchange also has map specialists available who can explain the changes in flood zones. Call 877-336-2627 for more information.