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35,000 Homes and Businesses Added to FEMA Flood Zones after Sandy

By Jess Wisloski | January 29, 2013 9:56am
 A screen image from the NavTeq interactive maps released by FEMA for the New Jersey and New York metropolitan areas on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, introducing up to 35,000 new properties that will be designated as flood-zone areas.
A screen image from the NavTeq interactive maps released by FEMA for the New Jersey and New York metropolitan areas on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, introducing up to 35,000 new properties that will be designated as flood-zone areas.
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FEMA, NavTeq & Microsoft

NEW YORK CITY — Some 35,000 homes and businesses were added to FEMA flood zones around the New York area in the wake of Hurricane Sandy — doubling the previous amount, according to published reports.

The revision, the first time in 30 years for New York City, would require homeowners to build homes up to 6 feet higher than their previous foundations, NY1 reported.

Hurricane Sandy brought a monster 14-foot storm surge, inundating Lower Manhattan, the Rockaways and large sections of southern Staten Island.

The surge from the tempest, which made landfall as a superstorm, extended past the city's evacuation zones for a storm of that strength.

A portion of the maps for the city, where the most dramatic changes will take place — the Rockaways, the Coney Island area and southern Staten Island — was released Monday. The rest will be released next month, according to FEMA.

The release came the same day as the U.S. Senate approved a relief bill for Hurricane Sandy victims, which would release funds to help many New Yorkers in rebuilding their homes.

Residents of the affected areas can search for their addresses to learn about flood information for their homes and what remedial steps they will be required to take, according to the Daily News.

The maps will not go into effect for two years, but homes that have been added to the flood zones will be required to buy flood insurance if the owner has a mortgage backed by the federal government, the News said.

Those who fail to comply with the new guidelines could face premiums up to $10,000 a year, according to the paper.

The city is expected to issue an executive order later this week offering direction to homeowners who are in the midst of post-Sandy rebuilding in flood-prone areas.

"I think that people will need an opportunity to see and understand what [the new zones] are," Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said Monday.

"We want to help people to be able to get the rebuilding process started if they want to do that right now," he said. "What we're looking at is — what are the changes that we need to make to the building code and zoning code to enable people to do that?

"We're going to make some changes there with the overall goal of helping people to move forward and rebuild safely," he said.

FEMA was not immediately available for comment.