FEMA’s new Flood Insurance Rate Maps for Morehouse Parish are raising serious concerns about accuracy and the financial impact of these maps for local property owners.
The preliminary maps are part of FEMA’s nationwide Flood Map Modernization program which began in 2003. The Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is used to rate flood insurance policies sold through FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Morehouse Parish Police Jury Secretary Shasidee Phillips said the parish has taken part in NFIP for several years. The parish flood maps were last updated in 1985. To remain in compliance with the NFIP, the jury must use these maps when issuing building permits and elevation certificates.
Preliminary versions of the new FEMA maps were sent to the jury and incorporated governing bodies in the parish a few weeks ago for review. Whereas the old maps showed only the unincorporated areas of the parish, the new maps depict urban and rural areas all together.
The new maps were prepared for FEMA by Taylor Engineering of Florida. Areas designated as major flood zones (Zone A) are marked in blue, while the rest of the parish is shaded as “Other Flood Areas” (Zone X).
The legend defines Zone X: “Areas of 0.2 percent annual chance flood; areas of 1 percent annual chance flood with average depths of less than 1 foot or with drainage areas less than 1 square mile; and areas protected by levees with 1 percent annual chance flood.”
The maps do not distinguish which areas fit into these subcategories, nor do they distinguish between areas of high and low elevation. All of Morehouse Parish is simply shaded as “Other Flood Areas.”
Phillips said a Community Coordination Meeting is slated for March 23. Local officials and citizens will have the opportunity to give their input about the new maps to FEMA reps then.
Frank Messinger of Messinger & Associates Inc., Professional Land Surveyors, said he believes the new maps are “almost a deliberate attempt to force people to pay for flood insurance” who will probably never be at risk of flooding.
“As I understand it, they’re doing the same thing to all of the other parishes,” he said.
Last week, Messinger sent a letter to U.S. Senators David Vitter and Mary Landrieu, U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander, state Rep. Sam Little, state Sen. Mike Walsworth and Police Jury President Terry Matthews asking for an investigation.
Portions of the letter are reprinted here with Messinger’s permission:
“The new maps do not show Section, Township and Range lines, only roads. The ENTIRE PARISH has been placed in a flood zone.
“Parts of Morehouse Parish are higher than 150 feet Mean Sea Level, this means the City of Monroe would be inundated with an excess of ONE HUNDRED FEET OF WATER before parts of Morehouse would be flooded. For this to take place, the oceans would need to rise by ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FEET. Where will this water come from?
“I find it inconceivable that a government body would hire a firm to prepare maps of this stupidity, or it is a deliberate attempt on their part to force people that will not flood to pay for those people that will.
“I would ask you to begin an investigation on behalf of the people in our State.”
Messinger said he plans to voice his concerns at the March 23 community meeting.
Morehouse Economic Development Corp. CEO Kay King is a licensed surveyor in Louisiana, and she shares these concerns.
King notes that whereas the old maps show Section, Township and Range, the new maps use lines of latitude and longitude.
“The main thing is that the police jury doesn’t have any way to verify where the property is located without that legal description.”
King also notes the nine-page flood study that arrived with the maps cites as a source a study performed for Bastrop in 1979 by S.E. Huey Co. Ditches, culverts and other factors can change in 30 years’ time.
“Precision and accuracy are not the same thing,” she explained. “It doesn’t matter how precise the maps are if you can’t use them.”
King also notes the maps are affixed with a provisional levee accredited note. This means if a levee is deemed inadequate, property owners in the shaded areas of the map may be forced to pay for an expensive map amendment to prove they were never protected by the levee in the first place.
The levee provisional note applies to areas in the parish that are clearly not protected by any levee, such as Red Hill and the Bastrop airport.
“How can we tell what is protected by a levee and what is subject to minimal flooding?” said King. The maps do not make this clear.
King also notes a developer from outside the parish could not tell the difference between areas of high and low elevation by looking at the maps.
“I’m not pleased with how the maps present Morehouse Parish to potential businesses, and to potential residents,” said King. “I think they give a picture of our parish that is inaccurate.”
King said she also plans to voice her concerns at the March 23 meeting, particularly with regard to putting the legal description of location on the maps.
“We were promised accurate maps. The ultimate goal of a map is to provide good information, and I don’t think these do.”
