The preliminary map is available. Click here to view a preliminary FEMA map depicting the potential flood zone. Flood zone maps are issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  FEMA is the federal agency that manages the National Flood Insurance Program.

For a much higher-resolution image, suitable for zooming in, you may download this 17.43 MB file. Caution: This will take some time on a slow-speed connection.

Tell me about flood insurance.

Property owners within the flood zone depicted in the Federal maps would be required to buy flood insurance. The cost could be upwards of thousands of dollars per year, per property. When the map becomes effective, Federal regulations require homeowners to get Flood Insurance, if they have a Federally guaranteed mortgage (Visit www.FloodSmart.gov or consult your lending institution).

It is important that people who will end up in this new flood zone obtain flood insurance before the map becomes effective. In doing so, people can lower their eventual cost for flood insurance. FEMA decides the timetable for flood map processing.

However, it should be noted that a Flood Insurance requirement imposed on the residents of Santa Maria does nothing to fix the overall problem. Flood insurance does help reimburse a family for damages should a flood occur, but the money does not go towards fixing the Levee which would prevent the problem from happening in the first place.

Will residents have to carry flood insurance during Levee repairs?

The requirement for insurance will be lifted only when repairs are complete and certification is achieved. There is a possibility that when funding is secure to complete the restoration of the Levee that an AR Zone designation may be granted by FEMA. Zone AR is the flood insurance rate zone used to depict areas protected from flood hazards by flood control structures, such as levee, that are being restored.