New Houston Flood Plain Maps - InspectionNews

imported_John Smith · #1 (**permalink**) 07-09-2008, 05:36 PM

I was talking with an agent the other day about the "new" Houston flood plain maps. Apparently there are a significant number of properties that are now in the flood plain that werent previously based on the old maps. The cost of flood insurance has doubled or tripled for many people, and Im sure it is going to lower the value of their property. Apparently if individual home owners want to have an individual elevation survey performed on their property, they could get back into "preferred flood insurance" status providing they meet the minimum elevation requirements. Does anyone know anything more about this, and if the individual surveys have proven to be effective, as in proving the LIDAR mapping inaccurate.

Look at my posts number, I finally bowled the perfect game!
Still a small percentage of Jerry P though.

Jerry Peck · #2 (**permalink**) 07-09-2008, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imported_John Smith

Apparently if individual home owners want to have an individual elevation survey performed on their property,

They should already have one. It's called an Elevation Certificate, and it is issued by the surveyor.

Every time a home is sold, it is surveyed, the house (hopefully) never moves, the same elevation numbers should apply from Day 1 through today (unless there is a volcano or sink hole under the house raising or lowering the house).

What does change the flood plain maps, though, is updating do to construction. What used to be water runoff / discharge areas have now been filled in and are new subdivisions, so ... where does all that water go? Nowhere slowly ... which now causes flooding in areas where flooding never was a problem.

That's just one of the reasons for flood plain map changes.

Scott Patterson · #3 (**permalink**) 07-09-2008, 08:55 PM

I lived in Houston from 1973 to 1986 and if I recall the highest point in town was around 50' above sea level and that was ground height and not the freeway overpass!

Houston has always flooded and it will continue to flood, so it really should be all that much of a shock to folks. As for flood insurance, it is cheaper than homeowners.