New FEMA Flood Study

FEMA’s Essex County Flood Study Update

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 2 Office and STARR II, FEMA’s mapping partner, have finalized the draft Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) database for Essex County, New York. Completing this draft database concludes the collection and analysis of the initial engineering data for your community and provides an updated representation of where water will collect and flow during a flood.

Over time, water flow and drainage patterns can change due to surface erosion, land use development, and other factors. The draft FIRM database applies these changes to show proposed Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs). A SFHA is an area subject to inundation by the base (1%-annual-chance) flood. The draft database is available for your community’s review in the form of digital work maps, available on the FEMA Geoplatform (https://arcg.is/1OOLXm). Please share these work maps with interested individuals in your community. They can use the property locator box at the top of the map to go directly to their lots. There will also be several opportunities in the upcoming months to provide feedback on draft SFHAs and other flood hazard information before the draft FIRM database is finalized. Please note that this data is considered draft/provisional and is subject to change because it has not been through final reviews or an appeal period.

FEMA wants your community to have current and accurate flood risk products. Your feedback, partnership, and local knowledge make this possible. We look forward to working with community officials and other stakeholders to increase flood risk awareness and reduce risk to lives and property from flooding. Any comments and suggestions will not affect your community’s ability to provide feedback later, or to formally appeal the flood hazard information during the future appeal period.

If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact Michael Foley at: Michael.Foley3@fema.dhs.gov or 347-610-1847 or Juan Arevalo, Program Management Lead, FEMA Region 2, at: juan.arevalo@fema.dhs.gov or 202-812-5595.

Michael P. Foley, Chief

Risk Analysis Branch | FEMA Region 2 – One WTC 53rd Floor SW