Lakeview-preliminary-flood-map.jpg

Lakeview and Lake Vista are on this preliminary flood insurance rate map released for public comment by FEMA on Wednesday.

(FEMA)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday (June 24) asked New Orleans property owners to comment on preliminary flood insurance rate maps that are now available for viewing at an agency web site.

The announcement comes three years after a post-Hurricane Katrina revamping of the flood maps was presented to New Orleans officials for comment. While a news release announcing the release of the maps said the city and FEMA worked together for months to create them, neither FEMA nor New Orleans officials were available late Wednesday to discuss what changes, if any, were made in the maps during the past three years.

The new maps are likely to be good news for homeowners and businesses within the rebuilt levee system, where required base elevations have been lowered, which could mean a stabilizing or even a drop in future flood insurance premiums.

The maps are available in PDF format at the FEMA Map Service Center. After selecting the state, and Orleans Parish, click on the Get Preliminary FEMA Map Products button.

In a news release, FEMA officials outlined the methods that members of the public can use to either comment on the maps or submit a formal appeal of how their property is listed on the maps, which are used to determine the rates charged by the National Flood Insurance Program.

That will lead you to a page with a long list of links to Flood Insurance Rate Map documents. You will have to click on the last document, which is an index map, to find the location of your property. Then determine the number ending in "F", and click on that item ID to call up your map.

The maps are coded in shades of gray, with the base flood elevation listed for most zones. For instance, map 22071C0113F is for the Lakeview neighborhood and shows much of the area is in an AE zone with a base flood elevation of 5 feet or 6 feet below sea level. Much of Lake Vista is now listed as in an X zone, meaning that it is above the level where potential flooding could occur from a rainfall event with a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year, a so-called 100-year flood.

The 1 percent rainfall for New Orleans has been estimated at between 11 and 14 inches in a 24-hour period, according to a study released when the flood maps were released in 2012.

"An 'appeal' is a formal objection to proposed base flood elevations or flood depths, Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) boundaries and zones, or floodways," the news release said. "Appeals must be based on technical data that show proposed maps to be scientifically incorrect."

Individuals making appeals must include the method, data and analysis used to support the challenge. An explanation of the support data needed for an appeal is available online.

Comments are objections to a base map feature change, which can include labels, incorrect roads, jurisdictional boundaries, or other changes that are not appealable.

Both comments and appeals must be sent to FEMA through the city of New Orleans floodplain administrator, through the Department of Safety and Permits at City Hall, 1300 Perdido St., Room 7W03.

Information on the appeals process also is on the city's web site:

FEMA Flood Map Appeals Process Requirements

Download New Orleans Flood Map Appeal Application

FEMA Required Support Data and Documentation for Property Owners

FEMA also has set up a live online chat service for flood maps at http://go.usa.gov/r6C. Click on the "Live Chat" icon.

A FEMA map specialist also can be contacted by a no-charge phone call to 1.877.336.2627 or by email at FEMAMapSpecialist@riskmapcds.com.

"Once all comments and appeals are resolved, FEMA will notify communities of the effective date of the final maps," the news release said.

An earlier version of this story said the index map at the FEMA flood map web site was the first document on the list for New Orleans. It is the last map on the list, and is labeled "index".