…Or Maybe Some Folks Have Learned (NFIP in Hartford County)

Despite my prior post…perhaps someone has learned something from the aftermath of Katrina.

Friday, the Courant ran a story discussing the release of new FEMA flood zone maps for Hartford County, Connecticut.  The article contained this observation:

FEMA is also looking at levees more closely than ever. For Hartford and East Hartford, that means that areas behind the Connecticut River levees, once deemed to be at no risk of flooding, are now considered low- to moderate-risk flood zones. The federal government doesn’t require flood insurance in these areas — but FEMA is recommending it, and a private lender could require it.

For Hartford, the new zone covers 20 percent of the city’s land area — generally South Meadows, North Meadows and the eastern portion of downtown, from Columbus Boulevard to the river. In East Hartford, the new zone takes in a good deal of the town, from Green Terrace to the north, west though Great River Park and Commerce Center, east to Main Street and the area behind town hall, and finally out to Brewer Street in the southeast, Town Engineer Nick Casparino said.

This is the case even though the levees on both sides of the river are provisionally certified by the feds and millions of dollars in repairs have been made. The levees are on track for permanent certification by the Army Corps of Engineers — in July 2009 for Hartford, and March 2010 for East Hartford.

On the old maps, there’s no indication that the areas were protected by levees or in any danger of flooding; now, said Hartford City Engineer John McGrane, the draft maps show a zone emanating from the river called "shaded area X."

That new delineation, McGrane said, suggests that FEMA doesn’t fully trust levees anymore. He said the federal government used to assume levees built by the Army Corps of Engineers were infallible. Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 blew that assumption away.

Those of you interested in where your property lies with regard to official flood zones may wish to visit FEMA’s online mapping service here.