For the first time since 1993, Auburn's Flood Insurance Rate Maps are being updated.
FIRMs are used to determine flood insurance rates and requirements through the National Flood Insurance Program.
The NFIP uses FIRMs to decide which residents require flood insurance by locating floodplain zones.
FEMA is leading a Congress-initiated effort to update the FIRMs of over 20,000 communities, including Lee County.
FEMA could not be reached for comment.
"The updated maps will provide Auburn residents with a resource to more accurately determine flood risk," according to an Auburn City press release.
The updated maps will likely change floodplain zones, meaning buildings that aren't in zones requiring insurance on the current maps, may be required to have flood insurance with the new ones.
The Auburn assistant city engineer, Brett Peterson, said the maps will be updated with new hydrology and terrain information using aerial photography technology and computer software for modeling.
Lisa Simpson, mapping specialist for the City of Auburn, said the maps will be upgraded by mea- suring elevation at 2-foot contours instead of the 10-foot contours of the old maps, which will make them more specific. "Preliminary maps should be ready by July," said Lisa Simpson, mapping specialist for the City of Auburn, but she said they may come out later.
Flood risk is measured by what FEMA calls the "100-year standard," which assigns a one percent chance of flood per year for 100 years.
Simpson said she is not sure when the official maps will be out. The updated maps will not change insurance rates, but may change the floodplain zones.
This means properties that are not located within a floodplain zone on the current maps could be within these zones on the new maps, which will cause these properties to require flood insurance, Peterson said.
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