Flood insurance for Cassville?
January 20, 2021
Sheila Harris
In a city notorious for regular flooding, hope in the form of flood insurance for Cassville residents and business owners in the flood plain may be on the horizon.
In a reverberating Webex call during the January 11 city council meeting, Cassville officials and council members spoke with representatives of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a question and answer session regarding the possibility of Cassville rejoining the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
If the city chooses to participate in the national program - administered by FEMA - it will be the first time FEMA has granted a community the opportunity to participate without also requiring them to retrofit existing structures to meet FEMA’s current building codes.
If the city chooses to rejoin the National Flood Insurance Program, Cassville residents and business owners will be able to purchase flood insurance for the first time since 1977: the year the city was last a member of the NFIP.
The SEMA website discloses the following information regarding flooding:
• A standard homeowner’s insurance policy does not cover flooding.
• Homeowners are 85 percent more likely to use a flood insurance policy during the span of a 30-year mortgage than a homeowner’s policy.
• If a person lives in an area with a high-risk of flooding, they have a 25 percent chance of their home being flooded over the term of a 30-year mortgage.
If the city chooses to join the National Flood Insurance Program, there will be no cost to the city for participation. However, the city will be required to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances, which include ensuring that all new structures or improved structures be elevated to or above the base flood elevation (BFE).
According to the SEMA website, a “base flood” is a flood that has a one percent chance of occurring or being exceeded in any given year. But, according to the SEMA/FEMA representatives who spoke at Monday night’s meeting, existing Cassville businesses and structures in the flood plain will not be required to upgrade their structures to meet the BFE requirements in order to qualify for insurance, unless they opt to make structural changes in the future.
Cassville city administrator Steve Walensky is waiting to receive written confirmation of that statement from FEMA before the city moves forward.
If Cassville chooses to rejoin the NFIP, the city will be eligible for federal funds to assist with prospective flood management projects suggested as the result of a Section 205 feasibility study conducted by the Corp of Engineers.
No decision regarding NFIP participation was made at the January 11 council meeting, and the bill was tabled for further discussion.
Cassville city administrator Steve Walensky emphasized that being allowed to enter the NFIP without upgrading existing structures to meet current FEMA requirements is a huge break-through for Cassville.
Walensky is open to answering any questions about the National Flood Insurance Program.
The next Cassville city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 8 at 5:30 p.m.
In a city notorious for regular flooding, hope in the form of flood insurance for Cassville residents and business owners in the flood plain may be on the horizon.
In a reverberating Webex call during the January 11 city council meeting, Cassville officials and council members spoke with representatives of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a question and answer session regarding the possibility of Cassville rejoining the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
If the city chooses to participate in the national program - administered by FEMA - it will be the first time FEMA has granted a community the opportunity to participate without also requiring them to retrofit existing structures to meet FEMA’s current building codes.
If the city chooses to rejoin the National Flood Insurance Program, Cassville residents and business owners will be able to purchase flood insurance for the first time since 1977: the year the city was last a member of the NFIP.
The SEMA website discloses the following information regarding flooding:
• A standard homeowner’s insurance policy does not cover flooding.
• Homeowners are 85 percent more likely to use a flood insurance policy during the span of a 30-year mortgage than a homeowner’s policy.
• If a person lives in an area with a high-risk of flooding, they have a 25 percent chance of their home being flooded over the term of a 30-year mortgage.
If the city chooses to join the National Flood Insurance Program, there will be no cost to the city for participation. However, the city will be required to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances, which include ensuring that all new structures or improved structures be elevated to or above the base flood elevation (BFE).
According to the SEMA website, a “base flood” is a flood that has a one percent chance of occurring or being exceeded in any given year. But, according to the SEMA/FEMA representatives who spoke at Monday night’s meeting, existing Cassville businesses and structures in the flood plain will not be required to upgrade their structures to meet the BFE requirements in order to qualify for insurance, unless they opt to make structural changes in the future.
Cassville city administrator Steve Walensky is waiting to receive written confirmation of that statement from FEMA before the city moves forward.
If Cassville chooses to rejoin the NFIP, the city will be eligible for federal funds to assist with prospective flood management projects suggested as the result of a Section 205 feasibility study conducted by the Corp of Engineers.
No decision regarding NFIP participation was made at the January 11 council meeting, and the bill was tabled for further discussion.
Cassville city administrator Steve Walensky emphasized that being allowed to enter the NFIP without upgrading existing structures to meet current FEMA requirements is a huge break-through for Cassville.
Walensky is open to answering any questions about the National Flood Insurance Program.
The next Cassville city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 8 at 5:30 p.m.