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NOTICE
Appeal Period
Ends on the Preliminary Flood Insurance
Rate Maps
On September 10, 2008 FEMA’s
official Appeal and Protest period ended.
During the appeal and protest period property
owners throughout Middlesex County could
submit technical and/or scientific data
to file a protest regarding their individual
properties, or an appeal regarding the accuracy
of the mapping process in general. FEMA
had recommended that appeal or protests
be submitted to FEMA through the local community.
The City of Cambridge received two appeals
prior to the deadline so that they could
be submitted to FEMA together with the City’s
comment letter. A third appeal
was submitted to the City and FEMA simultaneously.
Flood Maps
are Changing……..What You
Should Know (Revised)
The Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) has recently completed a study
which re-examined Middlesex County flood
zones and and has developed preliminary
revised detailed, digital flood hazard maps
for the Alewife area in the City of Cambridge.
The proposed new maps -- also known as Flood
Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) -- reflect current
flood risks, replacing maps that are over
25 years old. The reason these maps are
produced is to provide home owners, mortgage
companies, insurance companies and agents
and other interested parties information
specific to flood risk in areas adjacent
to or impacted by local rivers which are
subject to flooding. Maps can be viewed
on-line, see the links below under Additional
Information or at local branch libraries
and the following municipal offices: City
Clerk, Conservation Commission, Community
Development, Inspectional Services and Public
Works.
How will these changes
affect you?
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The purpose
of this letter is to inform you that
some parcels in the Alewife area have
been mapped into a higher risk zone,
known as a Special Flood Hazard Area
(SFHA), and shown on the FIRM as “AE”,
and other parcels have been mapped into
a lower risk zone, shown on the FIRM
as “X”. The SFHA is the
area that will be inundated by the flood
event having a 1% chance of being equaled
or exceeded in any given year. The Zone
X area is the area that will be inundated
by the flood event having a 0.2% chance
of being equaled or exceeded in any
given year. |
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Parcels in a SFHA:
If you have a mortgage from a federally-regulated
lender and the building(s) on this parcel
are within the SFHA, then by federal
law, your lender must require you to
carry flood insurance when these flood
maps become effective. Flood insurance
is available through the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP), a federally
underwritten program provided by nearly
100 insurance companies and written
through licensed insurance agents. Contact
your insurance agent to learn about
lower-cost “grandfathering”
options offered by the NFIP for properties
being mapped into higher-risk areas
for the first time. If you do not
have a mortgage, FEMA still recommends
that you purchase flood insurance, but
you are not obliged to do so. Most homeowners’
insurance policies do not provide coverage
for damage due to flooding. For more
information on flood insurance, visit
the National Flood Insurance Program’s
website, www.floodsmart.gov
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Parcels in Zone X:
While flood insurance in these areas
is optional, maintaining coverage is
recommended by FEMA as the flood risk
has only been reduced, not removed.
Lower cost flood insurance from the
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
is available in low- to moderate-risk
areas and you may also qualify for the
even lower cost Preferred Risk Policy
(PRP). Contact your insurance agent
to learn more about how to convert to
the PRP. For more information on flood
insurance, visit www.floodsmart.gov
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If you feel there has been an error, you can file a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA)
If you were unable to file an appeal or
protest and believe that your property has
been included in the Special Flood Hazard
Area (SFHA) in error, then FEMA has established
administrative procedures to change the
designation for these properties on the
effective FIRM. These processes are referred
to as the Letter of Map Amendment, or LOMA,
process and the Letter of Map Revision Based
on Fill, or LOMR-F, process. Through these
processes, an individual who owns, rents,
or leases property may submit certain mapping
and survey information to FEMA and request
that FEMA issue a document that officially
removes a property and/or structure from
the SFHA. In most cases, the applicant will
need to hire a Licensed Land Surveyor or
Registered Professional Engineer to prepare
an Elevation Certificate for the property.
Upon receiving a complete application forms
package, FEMA will normally complete its
review and issue its determination in 4
to 6 weeks. Guidance information and determination
requirements can be found at:
http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/fmc_loma.shtm
or you can call the FEMA Map Assistance
Center at 1-877-336-2627.
When do the maps become effective?
Once the appeals and protests are reviewed
and once any needed map changes are incorporated,
FEMA will issue a Letter of Final Determination.
Six months later, an ordinance approving
the new Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map
will be adopted by local municipalities
as necessary. The maps will then become
effective, as will any new flood insurance
requirements. Currently, FEMA is estimating
that these maps will become effective in
June 2009. If you purchase flood insurance
before the effective date, you may benefit
from the lower-cost “grandfathering”
insurance option. Please note that in order
for your insurance to be active by the effective
date of the new maps, the insurance should
be purchased at least 30-days in advance
of the effective date. You should check
with your insurance agent for details. Check
this website for future updates.
Here’s where
to go for more information.
* Note: The
tool entitled “One-Step Flood Risk
Profile” on www.floodsmart.gov is
based upon current 1982 flood maps and does
not reflect changes proposed in the Preliminary
Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Review the maps
provided on the Cambridge DPW web site for
proposed map information.
For more information see the links below.
Please note that all the documents below
are in pdf format. Some of the files are
large and may take a while to download.
If you have difficulties come into the DPW
office at 147 Hampshire Street for assistance.
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Additional
Information
Federal
Register Notice
Proposed
Flood Elevation Determination – Federal
Register/Vol. 73, No. 98/Friday, May 16,
2008/Proposed Rule
FEMA
Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map information
Flood
Insurance Study (FIS) (abridged –
Cambridge information only)
REVISED Flood
Profiles - Wellington Brook
Flood Insurance
Study (FIS) (Middlesex County, all jurisdictions)
Volume
1 – Flood Insurance Study
Volume
2 – Exhibit 1 - Flood Profiles –
Aberjona River – Greens Brook
Volume
3 – Exhibit 1 - Flood Profiles –
Guggins Brook – River Meadow Brook
Volume
4 – Exhibit 1 - Flood Profiles –
Run Brook – Witch Brook
REVISED Floodway
Data Tables
REVISED Flood
Profiles
Maps –
Exhibit 2 Flood Insurance Rate Maps (Cambridge
maps only)
REVISED
Map 1 - (25017C0418E) Includes
a small area in Cambridge bordering with
the Town of Belmont and includes portions
of the following neighborhoods: Cambridge
Highlands and Strawberry Hill.
REVISED
Map 2 - (25017C0419E) Includes
an area bordering with the Town of Arlington
and City of Somerville and includes portions
of the following neighborhoods: North Cambridge,
Cambridge Highlands, Strawberry Hill, Neighborhood
9 and Neighborhood 10.
Map
3 - (25017C0438E) Includes an
area bordering with the City of Somerville
and includes portions of the following neighborhoods:
North Cambridge, Neighborhood 9, Agassiz
and Mid Cambridge.
Map
4 - (25017C0557E) Includes an
area bordering with the Town of Watertown
and the Charles River and includes portions
of Neighborhood 10.
Map
5 - (25017C0576E) Includes an
area bordering with the Charles River and
includes portions of the following neighborhoods:
Neighborhood 10, Mid-Cambridge, Cambridgeport,
Area IV, Wellington Harrington and MIT/Area
2.
Map
6 - (25017C0577E) Includes an
area bordering with the Charles River and
Cities of Somerville and Boston and includes
portions of the following neighborhoods:
MIT/Area 2, East Cambridge, Area IV and
Wellington Harrington.
If you have difficulty
locating your property on one of these maps,
you can contact Cambridge DPW at 617. 349.4800.
Flood
Insurance Information (FEMA)
The
National Flood Insurance Program
Flood
Insurance and Flood Map Fact Sheet
Answers
to Tough Questions
Personal
Property Coverage Fact Sheet
Saving
of Flood Insurance
- Information on Grandfathering Rule
Your
Homeowners Insurance Doesn’t Cover
Floods….
Mapping
Information
FEMA Map Assistance
Center – 1-877-336-2627 (toll free)
Vertical
Datum - New Mapping Procedures
GIS
in Flood Map Modernization
Preliminary
Flood Plain Map with Parcel Information
Technical
Details (REVISED)
FEMA
Technical Notebook for Mystic River Study
- Middlesex County Technical Data Notebook
(TSDN) prepared by ENSR and Dewberry for
use in developing preliminary flood insurance
rate maps for Middlesex County. Contains
flood profiles, data tables, FIS data checklist,
floodway data table, Mystic River FIS text,
and workmaps.
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Please
note that the original posting did
not include all the files from the
Notebook. For complete copies contact
Catherine Woodbury at DPW (617) 349-4818. |
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