Input Your Address To Find FEMA Base Flood Elevation
FEMA releases search engine allowing residents to learn more about base flood elevation
New "Advisory Base Flood Elevations" are now posted to this interactive map from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which the agency says should provide a post-Hurricane Sandy picture of flood risk as residents rebuild.
Residents can input an address and see what the advisory base flood elevation is specific to that location, as FEMA updates its site.
The interactive map aims to equip residents "with more precise information about the flood risk they face, allowing them to make more informed decisions to reduce their personal risk to life and property," announced FEMA in a recent statement. However, the figures are "advisory" and many towns are processing the advisories and have yet to pass local ordinances adopting them since FEMA released the data Dec. 15.
With a storm surge and continued flooding along waterfront areas after Hurricane Sandy, the advisory base flood elevation hopes to answer the question: "How high is high enough?" to avoid flooded homes. As many destroyed homes are rebuilt, homeowners may use the base elevation to decide the height of lifts and pillars that property should be built on to avoid flooding issues.
The ABFE site's information aims to prove helpful to residents, landowners and town planners as it has "information to understand where flood risk exists and to decide whether to build to higher elevations based on what has been learned from Sandy," according to FEMA.
More resources are available on FEMA's ABFE page for New Jersey and New York.
Resident of Lacey
9:18 am on Saturday, January 12, 2013
ABFE:A
1%EL8
0.2%EL12
Okay what does this mean, I should rebuild my home to eight feet high or 12 feet high? Or do I wait for the town to do something? Any one understand this?
Jay Burnett
2:24 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
This is confusing to me also. My house is 7 ' above sea level...and despite half the neighborhood losing their ground floors, had only water in the crawl space. Does this mean we have to build up to EL 9 or two more feet? ( ABFE:V 1% EL9 .2%EL 13 )
proud
2:08 pm on Sunday, January 13, 2013
@Reaident of Lacey and @Jay Burnett, what Fema is suggesting is that due to their research in the aftermath of Sandy, there is a 1% likelihood of flooding in any given year for your zone, which is different for the two of you, since you live in different zones. These are currently suggested levels, and not yet etched in stone. For the purpose of rebuilding, you can receive the information you seek from the zoning and / or building department in your community. In Lacey, the two departments are under the same heading as the Department of Community Development. The height at which you rebuild will affect the rate you pay for flood insurance, should you be required or choose to carry it.
butch cassidy
3:41 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
keep seeing the ad for ikea...wish that we had one...
butch cassidy
3:43 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
ok i agree i cant figure this out..any ideas who to call in town?
proud
4:32 pm on Sunday, January 13, 2013
@Jenny Jones, I'm uncertain as to who you might call about IKEA, but I'm sure the Department of Community Development at the town hall could answer your questions about rebuilding based on the suggested revisions to the FEMA maps. There are also links on related patches that are informative and include FAQ's. Tons of information on the FEMA website and all over the Internet. The quality of the information that you glean from a search engine source may very wel be inaccurate, of course .
proud
9:36 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
This is a GREAT Facebook page. It's full of information and proves that the economic impact of the new FEMA regulations and the willingness of the once great State of New Jersey and the municipalities that don't don't fight for their constituencies will destroy the shore..The ramifications will affect all citizens, not just those directly affected:
[Stop FEMA now | Facebook
www.facebook.com/StopFemaNow
facebook/StopFemaNow. Flood-elevation maps will destroy the Shore. www.app.com. Gov. Christie's adoption of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's ...]