FEMA Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps Review Meeting

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials will be in the region to review the recently-released preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Landowners are encouraged to attend a meeting to learn more about the flood risk at their property and how the newly-revised maps may affect their need for and cost of flood insurance.

The public meeting for all of south Saint Louis County will be held at the St. Louis County Public Works Department Duluth Office in the Pike Lake Conference Room.

The city of Duluth’s Planning and Economic Development webpage has a subpage posted that enables landowners to locate their property on an aerial photo map with the floodplain designation. The web page also includes an explanation for each type of floodplain with links to Duluth’s Unified Development Chapter sections regulating construction in a floodplain.

Following the public meeting the webpage will stay active so landowners can review maps and flood plain information during FEMA’s official comment period. Once FEMA finalizes the maps, the city of Duluth will adopt the maps and related land use regulations, as required for FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program.

The NFIP is the federal provider of flood insurance policies. Flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages on structures in areas designated as a Special Flood Hazard Area and Coastal High Hazard Area. Duluth joined the NFIP in 1980 when it adopted its first Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Those maps establish flood zones and base flood elevations to determine the cost of flood insurance premiums. For more information about flood insurance visit floodsmart.gov.

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