The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed new flood plain maps for the portion of the City of East Lansing in Clinton County. These maps identify several formerly exempt properties as being in the flood plain. A property in the flood plain is often required by lenders to carry expensive flood insurance. Homeowners on properties that were added to the flood plain should take prompt action to protect their interests.
Some properties are only partly in the flood plain and may be able to avoid flood insurance requirements by obtaining a letter of map revision that establishes their building elevation is higher than the flood elevation. A letter of map revision request must show an engineer has established that no part of the building is within the flood plain and must be approved by FEMA.
The maps were developed to discourage development in areas likely to experience significant flooding. The areas included in the flood plain have a 26 percent chance of experiencing a flood in a 30-year period. FEMA hopes to mitigate costly disaster responses through the flood program.
Contact Howard Asch for more information.
Electronic copies of the flood maps can be viewed: