Residents and property owners in the Mullock Creek Basin in south Lee County can view FEMA’s new draft preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) at an upcoming public open house set for Jan. 15.
FEMA will host the open house at Lee County’s Administration East Building, 2201 Second St., Fort Myers, 33901, in the Green Room on the first floor. The drop-in style meeting does not include a formal presentation. Property owners and residents can attend 4 to 7 p.m.
In general, the Mullock Creek Basin includes the area between Alico and Corkscrew roads to the north and south, respectively, and between U.S. 41 and Interstate 75 to the west and east. The basin includes portions of the Village of Estero and a sizeable part of San Carlos Park.
The draft preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map changes are not related to recent past hurricanes Lee County has experienced, including Ian, Helene or Milton. The changes are the result of the federal RISK Map Study initiated by FEMA beginning in 2018.
These maps show the potential extent and risks of flooding.
At the open house, attendees can learn about their risk of flooding and ask questions about what the new maps will mean for their property. Specialists and subject matter experts will be on hand to meet one-on-one and discuss flood risk, flood insurance, appeals and mitigation options, as well as the engineering behind the flood insurance study.
FEMA encourages attendance by home and business owners, renters, real estate agents, mortgage lenders, surveyors and insurance agents.
The new preliminary FIRMs are based on updated modeling data for the Mullock Creek Basin and show flood hazards more accurately than previous maps.
FEMA’s goal of the open houses is to inform property owners and the community of their flood risks. These risks change throughout the years due to construction and development, environmental changes, watershed conditions and other factors. FEMA updates flood maps periodically to reflect these changes.
By law, federally regulated or insured mortgage lenders require flood insurance on buildings that are located in areas at high risk of flooding. Standard homeowners’, business owners’ and renters’ insurance policies typically don’t cover flood damage; consequently, FEMA messages that flood insurance is an important consideration for everyone, regardless of flood zone designation. Flood insurance policies can be purchased from any state-licensed property and casualty insurance agent. Call the National Flood Insurance Program Help Center at 800-427-4661 or visit www.floodsmart.gov for more information.
Members of the public with questions about these flood map changes can email FEMA at fema-r4-mit-techassist@fema.dhs.gov.
Attendees in need of reasonable accommodations at the open house (such as a sign language interpreter) should contact FEMA’s Office of Equal Rights at fema-reasonable-accomodations@fema.dhs.gov to make arrangements no later than three days prior to the open house.