Friends, I hope that you escaped the flooding over the past few weeks. The question is can you avoid the next flood?  You may not have heard of the Atlas 14 study, but you should – and soon. The National Weather Service recently released a new study (Atlas 14) and the conclusions were stunning. New data indicates that many of the current flood zones are not accurate. The current local 100-year flood plain is based on a 1% chance that Austin would receive a 10.2 inch rainfall in a 24-hour period. The new study indicates that a 1% chance would actually be more likely to be 13 inches. So what does this mean? In short, this would roughly make the 500-year flood zone the new 100-year flood zone.

The City of Austin is taking this seriously and is in the process of adopting new interim flood zones until flood maps are redrawn.  Changing the 500-year zone to the 100-year zone will affect approximately 3,600 structures. Most of these structures are likely homes with mortgages and will now require flood insurance per the terms of their mortgage.  If your property is in question, you should check the City flood map at ATX Flood PRO.  If you need help with this or just want to discuss your options, please feel free to call me. I can help.

JEFF STEWART,CCIM

STANBERRY & ASSOCIATES

jstewart@stanberry.com