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Flood Zone Open House
Meet One-on-One with
Federal, State & City Officials
Thursday, September 8, 2016
4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Southwest Community Center
401 South Avenue
Syracuse, New York
Press Release 8-22-2016 |
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New Flood Insurance Rate Maps
for the City of Syracuse |
Affected areas in Syracuse (see map [pdf]) |
| Harbor Brook Meadowbrook Onondaga Creek Onondaga Lake Ley Creek |
Brief History of new flood maps |
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New Flood Insurance Study in Syracuse started by Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA) in 2005. |
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Draft Flood Insurance Rate Maps provided to Syracuse in 2008, 2010, and 2012. |
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City of Syracuse reviewed the draft Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate Map and found errors. |
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FEMA corrected mapping based on City appeals; Senators Schumer and Gillibrand helped City appeals. |
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City review and appeals helped to reduce the number of parcels in the newly-mapped Onondaga Creek floodplain by over 30%. |
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Final Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps provided by FEMA in May 2015; FEMA Final Letter of Determination in May 2016. |
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Syracuse is required to adopt the Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate maps by September 2016 for them to be effective in November. |
Changes to Mapped Floodplains (click here for a list of parcels [pdf]) |
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Parcels in
Old Floodplain
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Parcels
Removed
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Parcels
Remaining
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Parcels
Added
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Parcels in
New Floodplain
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| Total Syracuse |
963 |
237 |
726 |
876 |
1,602 |
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National Flood Insurance Program |
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Syracuse is part of the National Flood Insurance Program which subsidizes flood insurance, lowering flood insurance rates for residents and businesses. |
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If Syracuse does not adopt the new Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Flood Insurance Rate Map , the City will be suspended from the National Flood Insurance Program and not be eligible for federal disaster assistance. |
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Properties in the Special Flood Hazard Area are required by federal law to have flood insurance if the property has a federally-backed mortgage. Property owners acquire flood insurance through a private insurance company at federally-subsidized rates. |
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There is a “grandfathering” period where owners can purchase flood insurance at lower rates for a limited time. |
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To find out the status of your flood insurance you should contact the bank that holds your home mortgage. |
Community Rating System |
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Syracuse is part of the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System and gets evaluated every five years regarding floodplain management activities. Our current rating is 7 which qualifies residents for a 15% discount on flood insurance. |
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The Community Rating System scale starts at 10 and the lower the rating the better. Each lower number is another 5% discount on flood insurance. The more floodplain management (i.e. laws/regulations, detention basins, etc.) and community outreach/education (i.e. brochures, public meetings, websites, etc.) regarding flood risks that Syracuse performs, the better the Community Rating System. |
Appeals Process - Letter of Map Amendment |
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FEMA has a process for owners whose property is shown within the Special Flood Hazard Area but who believe their property/structure is above the base flood elevation and not subject to flooding. |
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The owner completes a Letter of Map Amendment, including a survey from a licensed surveyor and submits it to FEMA. FEMA will make a determination if the property is in or out of the Special Flood Hazard Area. |
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The owner must then provide determination to bank/mortgage company. |
Resources |
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