New flood maps say the Outer Banks is getting safer. Local officials disagree
MANTEO, N.C. — New federal flood maps say nearly 13,000 Outer Banks properties are no longer in flood zones, but local officials are issuing warnings to anyone thinking about dropping their flood insurance.
Don’t do it, said Donna Creef, planning director for Dare County. “It’s imperative that people know the importance of this,” she said.
Officials say the new maps don’t account for the devastating storms that have struck northeastern North Carolina in recent years.
The National Flood Insurance Program requires coverage for homes with mortgages lying in high-risk flood zones. FEMA, in conjunction with the state, creates new maps every decade or so based on population change, differing weather patterns and better science, according to a FEMA website.
Flood zones on the maps, available online, help determine floodinsurance rates and building regulations.
Homeowners now in low-risk areas could cancel flood insurance. New construction could be built lower to the ground for less money.
But the same properties that were previously deemed high risk remain susceptible, Creef said.
The flood zone maps could change again in the future, potentially putting properties back in a high-risk area. In turn, the cost of insurance rates could rise dramatically, she said.
Until that time, however, people now in low-risk zones should be able to keep their flood insurance and pay lower rates.
The last Dare County map was completed in 2006. The new maps take effect June 19.
To alert the public to their concerns, local officials have held public meetings since 2016 — when drafts of the new zones first came out. Local government websites also have tried to educate property owners.
A flood that rises even one inch into a 2,000 square-foot home can cause $21,000 in damage, the Dare County website says.
The Outer Banks Association of Realtors, in conjunction with the
North Carolina Homeowners Alliance, has produced and distributed thousands of copies of a brochure cautioning people to keep their flood insurance.
The new flood zones do not reflect what happens on the ground, said Porter Graham, local government affairs director for the North Carolina Association of Realtors.
“They used data from storms that were severe in places other than the Outer Banks,” Graham said.
Downtown Manteo, where water flows on the streets after nearly every hard rainstorm, is largely considered by the new maps to be low-risk.
Manteo lies on Roanoke Island, surrounded by water. Shallowbag Bay laps against bulkheads just a few feet from downtown businesses. Some homes and buildings are already elevated, but many others are susceptible if water rises just a little.
Downtown business owners have had electrical receptacles lifted to waist height on the wall, said Melissa Dickerson, planner for the town of Manteo. And when it looks like a big storm is coming, some businesses ask employees and neighbors to move all the stock to higher shelves.
Sandbags get stacked in front of doors.
“Retreat is not an option for us,” Dickerson said. “Going higher is the best answer for us.”
The new maps also consider much of Nags Head to be high and dry, even though storm surge often overflows onto the streets.
Other neighborhoods have similar disparities.
To counter the maps, Dare County and Outer Banks towns have started requiring that the bottom of the floor joists in new buildings be at least 8 feet above mean sea level based on known elevation points. If a lot sits 3 feet above sea level, then the joists should be at least five feet above ground.
Some towns such as Nags Head and Duck made the minimum even higher, Graham said. Despite the extra construction expense, homebuilders have been on board, Creef said.
The practice is essential in Manteo, Dickerson said.
“We don’t want new buildings built on slabs … where it floods regularly,” she said.
Jeff Hampton, 252-491-5272, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com