The Preliminary flood maps for Currituck County have been released to the public. These maps have not been finalized and are subject to change. There is a lot of good news in these maps with a lot of properties showing new, better designations. For instance, the old maps had 1,097 properties in the most expense V Flood Zone and the new maps have reduced that number to 126 properties. The V Flood Zone is mainly on the oceanfront where wave action is considered a risk. Likewise, the next highest cost Flood Zones are the A Zones. Almost 5,000 properties have been removed from these zones. This is not how government works.
FEMA can not afford to have this many properties removed from their system. For each downgrade in Flood Zone, there is a reduction in the amount of insurance payments collected. I hate to be the pessimist in the group, but I don't believe these maps will stay the same. I own 2 properties located in flood zones and I would welcome a reduction in the amount I pay for flood insurance but I am not counting on it. These maps are coming from the State of NC and reflect that. Once FEMA looks at these maps, I have no doubt there will be changes adding a lot of these properties back into their original flood zones. I truly expect the final outcome will not be less properties in Flood Zones but more properties added than are already forced to buy flood insurance. I hope I am wrong.
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