(Developers building in the proposed flood zone do have to include some resiliency measures until a new map is ratified, according to the city.) A new floodplain map is due out in 2024, but in the meantime, developers and homeowners are operating off the outdated version. It was supposed to go into effect in 2015, but the city appealed it, arguing that its flood zones were overestimated and would force homeowners to buy unnecessary or overly expensive insurance. “Flood risk is much more complex than a hard-drawn line that identifies what is and what isn’t,” said Pablo Herreros-Cantis, a research fellow at the New School’s Urban Systems Lab, who presented the work in June at a climate conference organized by Columbia University’s Earth Institute.įEMA proposed an updated map for New York City, which found that twice as many buildings as before were at risk of flooding. Income levels have dropped across some of these neighborhoods, making it harder for them to prepare for future natural disasters.Īnd the current flood zones in these neighborhoods are potentially 46% larger than they appear on the official maps in circulation, the researchers found. The study shows that due to a steady stream of building developments, these high-risk flood zones have become denser, putting more people in these budding communities in the path of dangerous and destructive floodwaters than before Superstorm Sandy. Currently, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) map last updated in 2007 determines how much of New York City is at risk of flooding-and which homeowners are required to reference by law when purchasing flood insurance. That’s according to researchers at the New School, who tracked new construction and population changes in six flood-prone neighborhoods between 20. This site will help New Yorker’s understand their flood risk and flood insurance requirements.New York City’s flood maps haven’t been updated in 14 years, potentially putting tens of thousands more New Yorkers in harm’s way and leaving them without a means of paying for damage if a storm should hit. ** The City encourages residents to purchase flood coverage, which is not included in homeowners insurance.** Until the new flood maps are issued, flood insurance rates in New York City will continue to be based on the 2007 Effective FIRMs saving coastal households tens of millions of dollars per year.įor those outside of the highest risk areas on those maps, flood insurance will remain less expensive.įlood risk is real and increasing with the impacts of climate change. In October 2016, FEMA announced that it agreed with the City’s findings, and that it would work with the City to revise the 2015 Preliminary FIRMs and issue new maps in the coming years that better reflect current flood risk. In June 2015, New York City filed a technical appeal of the Preliminary FIRMs released in January 2015. In addition, Congressional changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) managed by FEMA will lead to increased flood insurance rates for many flood insurance policyholders.įEMA’s FIRMs have not been significantly updated since 1983, and the City’s maps are currently being updated by FEMA. Property owners with federally-backed mortgages on buildings identified in the high-risk areas on the FIRMs are required to purchase flood insurance. FEMA FIRMs are created through an extensive mapping process that take into account topography, and the types and strength of storms that historically have affected the region. Many more New Yorkers will be considered exposed to flood risk, and, if they have federally-backed mortgages, they will be required to buy flood insurance-just as flood rates are increasing.įEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) delineate areas at high-risk for flooding.

Flood zone map ny