FEMA Flood Maps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was feeling a little better then looked at the rating of my house on the first street website from this article and it’s a 9/10 extreme risk.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/12/nx-s1-5465564/fema-removed-camp-mystic

We were also 9/10 for flooding on First Street, which makes zero sense. We are no where near any water

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was feeling a little better then looked at the rating of my house on the first street website from this article and it’s a 9/10 extreme risk.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/12/nx-s1-5465564/fema-removed-camp-mystic

We were also 9/10 for flooding on First Street, which makes zero sense. We are no where near any water

You’re in Bloomingdale and don’t know about the flood history? The storm water literally comes up out of your drains and into your basements. That’s why there’s the massive tunnel project under Bloomingdale. First Street is ground zero, with dozens of claims in that area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am next to a creek that has never flooded, but FEMA put my back yard in a flood zone. I am in Arlington County which deemed it a Natural Resource Protection area and means I can never take down a tree (there aren't any) or build on top of it. So it has implications for resale too, but it also means no one can ever build behind my property. I just make sure there are no irreplaceable valuables in my basement.

do you get a tax break for that easement?

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The irony is that because of the political connections of the owners of the camp in Texas, they successfully lobbied FEMA to have their property removed from the highest risk zone. Probably to lower their insurance costs. It's very good that the system was updated recently to be more realistic about the current risk environment, but obviously worthless if it can be easily manipulated. Just looking at the satellite images it was obvious how risky that site was to flooding.

This is not that uncommon as long as the actual structures are built a certain amount over the 100 year flood plain.

NP - the article also states that analysis shows that the majority of properties successfully petitioned and removed from the map are in upper class, white populations. Shocker. Would like to see regulations stating that if a homeowner successfully petitions to be removed from a FeMA map they also are waiving the right to any future FEMA funds. So see this along the DE shore with the $5 million oceanfront mansions that don’t want to pay premiums but are obviously at risk.

[Anonymous]

You don't have to be near water to flood. A lot of flooding is caused by heavy rain, and that creates makeshift rivers/streams in certain areas, depending on how the water drains and where it all collects. A 1% annual risk of flooding is more like a 22% risk of flooding over the lifetime of a 30-yr mortgage. So I would take it seriously, yes. That said, to OP, you could look into steps to help prevent your basement from flooding if you have one, like french drains.