Mild and humid Friday morning ahead of a hot afternoonIsrael targets air defense system in Syria, state news agency says
The effects of Hurricane Hermine caused street flooding in Fort Myers Beach. A new report is sounding the alarm about outdated FEMA flood maps and the disastrous impact they’re having as the panhandle is trying to recover from last year’s Hurricane Michael. Old maps designated many areas affected by Michael as “low risk” and those homes were devastated by the category 5 hurricane. How the maps are drawn determine if mortgage holders are required to have flood insurance or not. “We worked on a condo in Collier County that was inaccurately depicted in a VE zone and we modified it to the AE zone their flood insurance went from $240,000 to $60,000 after the modification to the accurate zone,” said Joshua Evans, President of J.R. Evans Engineering. The last time flood zones were updated in Lee County was in 2008. Right now they are in the process of remapping the area. Engineers say that insurance costs could be four times higher in a high risk flood zone verses a low risk area. You don’t have to be near a beach or body of water to run the risk of flooding. If you’re concerned you can have an engineer survey your property. To see the updated flood zone map click here.