HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be at Ottawa County’s West Olive complex with the latest flood map information from 5-7 p.m., Dec. 4, 2019. The meeting will be in the training room of the emergency management office 12220 Fillmore St. in West Olive.
The open house will provide residents with an opportunity to review a recently completed preliminary Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and its accompanying preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).
The FIS and the FIRMs provide base flood (also known as the 1-percent-annual-chance event)information, designate areas that are subject to significant flood hazards within the shoreline areas of the county and offer information that public officials may use when permitting development in the floodplain.
Representatives from various local, state, and federal agencies will provide the most current information about flood risk, flood insurance, floodplain development regulations, and the process for floodplain mapping within Ottawa County. The newly prepared preliminary floodplain maps will be on display.
Once the maps become effective, they will be used as the basis for flood insurance ratings as well as local flood protection regulations adopted under the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA also intends that they be used as tools to assist planning processes and outreach efforts to quickly respond to and recover from future events.
Property owners, Realtors, lenders, and insurance agents are urged to attend and take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about coastal flood risk and hazard mitigation within their community. Digital files of the Preliminary FIRMs and FIS report can be downloaded atwww.fema.gov/preliminaryfloodhazarddata. For more information, contact the FEMA News Desk at FEMA-R5-News-Desk@fema.dhs.gov.
