Boston Officials Appeal Preliminary 2013 FEMA Flood Maps

Officials in Boston this week filed an appeal with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding the city’s 2013 preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps after a recently-completed study “indicated inconsistencies and potential errors in the mapping and flood study approach used by FEMA,” city officials said in an announcement Wednesday.

“These maps have significant implications for Bostonians,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement. “We are doing our due diligence to make sure they are established with the best available data and appropriate modeling methodology.”

The appeal aims to request FEMA publish new preliminary maps based on the findings of the study and hold a new 90-day appeal and public comment period.

FEMA released the new maps for Suffolk County for public review on Nov. 15 last year, and the new maps added 1,585 acres of land to the 100-year floodplain that includes 13,709 housing units and 4,202 businesses. All properties with federally-supported mortgages or loans in the floodplain need to carry flood insurance and also comply with flood protection standards in the city’s zoning and the state’s building codes, according to officials.

Officials hired Woods Hole Group to evaluate FEMA’s flood mapping methodology, data sources and modeling. The resulting report “Found inconsistencies in FEMA’s mapping and flood study approach, resulting in approximately 507 acres of land that should be removed from the 100-year floodplain, as well as 33 acres that should be included.”

“The city is ensuring that the new FEMA maps best reflect the current flood risk of Boston,” Brian Swett, Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space for the city of Boston said in a statement. “However, these maps do not address the future impacts of climate change and sea level rise. We know that coastal flooding will get worse in the decades to come, and the city has a number of initiatives underway to better prepare for this challenge.”

For more on the flood maps, read the full announcement at CityofBoston.gov >>