Pope County Residents Invited to Attend Flood Map Information Virtual Open House

CHICAGO — Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will host a Flood Map Information Virtual Open House for Pope County online from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. The virtual open house will provide county residents with an opportunity to review a recently completed Preliminary Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and its accompanying Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).

The FIS and the FIRMs provide base flood (also known as the 1-percent-annual-chance event) information, designate areas that are subject to significant flood hazards, and offer information that public officials may use when permitting development in the floodplain.

The virtual open house will be staffed with representatives from state and federal agencies who will provide the most current information about flood risk, flood insurance, floodplain development regulations, and the process for floodplain mapping within Pope County. Once the maps become effective, they will be used as the basis for flood insurance policy writing as well as local flood protection regulations adopted under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). FEMA also intends that they be used by local officials in emergency management to assist planning processes and outreach efforts to increase resiliency in response to flood and storm events. Details for the Pope County meeting are as follows:

WHAT:              Pope County Flood Map Information Virtual Open House
WHEN:             January 6, 2021 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
WHERE:           Virtual Zoom Meeting: visit the Pope County Website (https://www.co.pope.mn.us/events/6980/) for the link

Property owners, realtors, lenders, and insurance agents are urged to attend and take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about flood risk and hazard mitigation within their community. Digital files of the Preliminary FIRMs and FIS report can be downloaded at: https://hazards.fema.gov/femaportal/prelimdownload/.

For more information, contact FEMA at FEMA-R5-news-desk@fema.dhs.gov or (312) 408-4455.

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