Hancock County and Pearl River County Flood Risk Open House
General public provided opportunity to find out more about floodplain maps on April 13
(Jackson, Miss.) — The Mississippi/FEMA Risk MAP Team will host a Flood Risk open house from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at the Hancock County Emergency Operations Center located at 18333 Highway 603 in Kiln.
The open house will provide the public with an opportunity to review the recently completed preliminary Flood Insurance Study and its accompanying preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) that include base flood information and identification of areas subject to flood hazards. The new preliminary maps covering portions of the Cities of Picayune and Poplarville, and unincorporated areas of Hancock and Pearl River Counties will also be available for viewing, after the meeting, on the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality web site at:
Hancock County: http://geology.deq.ms.gov/floodmaps/Projects/RiskMAP/?county=Hancock
Pearl River County: http://geology.deq.ms.gov/floodmaps/Projects/RiskMAP/?county=PearlRiver
The team, which includes representatives from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Geographic Information LLC, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will be available to address questions from the public. Local and state officials will also be present to provide information about flood risk, flood insurance, floodplain development requirements, and the process used for floodplain mapping.
The new studies were limited to riverine flooding sources. There are no new updates to the coastal zones or coastal flood elevations. Once the preliminary FIRMs become effective, these maps will be used by floodplain permit officials, builders and developers, lenders, realtors, insurance agents, and the general public to determine flood risk.
Property owners, realtors, lenders, and insurance agents are encouraged to attend and take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about flood risk and hazard mitigation. Contact a community Floodplain Administrator to learn if a home or business is located within a special flood hazard area which will require flood insurance if there is a federally-backed loan.
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