Originally Posted by
andreahaxton
CITY OF LACKAWANNA CODE ENFORCEMENT
FLOOD HAZARD
Flooding and other surface drainage problems can occur well away from a river, lake or ocean. If you are looking at a property, it is a good idea to check out the possible flood hazard before you buy. Here is why:
The force of moving water or waves can destroy a building.
•Slow moving floodwaters can knock people off their feet or float a car.
•Even standing water can float a building, collapse basement walls, or buckle a concrete floor.
•Water-soaked contents, such as carpeting, clothing, upholstered furniture and mattresses may have to be thrown away after a flood.
•Some items, such as photographs and heirlooms, may never be restored to their original condition.
•Floodwaters are not clean: floods carry mud, farm chemicals, road oil and other noxious substances that cause health hazards.
•The impact of a flood, cleaning up, making repairs and the personal losses can cause great stress to you, your family and your finances.
Floodplain Regulations:
Your community regulates construction and development in the floodplain to ensure that buildings will be protected from flood damage. Filling and similar projects are prohibited in certain areas. Houses that are substantially damaged by fire, flood or any other cause must be elevated above the flood level when they are repaired.
Check for Flood Hazard
Before you commit yourself to buying a property, do the following:
•Ask the real estate agent if the property is in a floodplain, if it has ever been flooded and if it is subject to any other hazards, such as sewer backup or subsidence.
•Ask the seller and the neighbors if the property is in a floodplain, how long they have lived there, if the property has ever been flooded, and if it is subject to any other hazards.
•Ask the local building, zoning or engineering department if the property is in a floodplain, if it has ever been flooded, what is the flood depth, velocity and warning time, if it is subject to any other hazards and what building or zoning regulations are in effect.
Flood Protection
A building can be protected from most flood hazards, sometimes at a relatively low cost. New buildings and additions can be elevated above flood levels. Existing buildings can be protected from shallow floodwaters by regarding, berms or floodwalls. There are other retrofitting techniques that can protect a building from surface or subsurface water.
Flood Insurance
One of the best protection measures for a building with a flood problem is National Flood Insurance, which is purchased through any property insurance agent. If the building is located in a floodplain, flood insurance will be required by most mortgage lenders. Ask an insurance agent how much a flood insurance policy would cost.
Nation Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
This community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP makes federally backed flood insurance available for all buildings, whether they are in the floodplain or not. Flood insurance covers direct loss caused by surface flooding, including a river flowing over its banks, a lake or ocean storm and local drainage problems.
The NFIP insures buildings, including mobile homes, with two types of coverage: structural and contents. Structural coverage is for walls, floors, insulation, furnace and other items permanently attached to the structure. Contents coverage may be purchase separately provided the contents are in an insurable building.
Mandatory Purchase Requirement
The mandatory purchase requirement applies to all forms of federal or federally related financial assistance for buildings located in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). This requirement affects loans and grants for the purchase, construction, repair or improvement of any publicly or privately owned building in the SFHA, including machinery, equipment, fixtures and furnishings contained in such buildings.
Financial assistance programs affected include loans and grants from agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Farmers Home Administration, Federal Housing Administration, Small Business Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency. The requirement also applies to secured mortgage loans from financial institutions, such as commercial lenders, savings and loans associations, saving banks and credit unions that are regulated, supervised or insured by federal agencies such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of Thrift Supervision. It also applies to all mortgage loans purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in the secondary mortgage market.
How it Works
Before a person can receive a loan or other financial assistance from one of the affected agencies or lenders, there must be a check to see if the building is a SFHA. The SFHA is the base (100 year) floodplain mapped on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). It is shown as one or more zones that begin with the letter “A” or “V.”
Copies of the FIRM are available for review in most local government buildings or planning departments. Many lenders and insurance agents have copies also. It is the agency’s or the lender’s responsibility to check the FIRM to determine if the building is in a SFHA, although many communities provide assistance.
If the building is in a SFHA, the agency or lender is required by law to require the recipient to purchase a flood insurance policy on the building. The requirement is for structural coverage equal to the amount of the loan (or other financial assistance) or the maximum amount available, whichever is less. The maximum amount available for a single family house is $250,000.
The mandatory purchase requirement does not affect loans or financial assistance for items that are not covered by a flood insurance policy, such as vehicles, business expenses, landscaping and vacant lots. It does not affect loans for buildings that are not in the SFHA, even though a portion of the lot may be prone to flooding. While not mandated by law, a lender may require a flood insurance policy for a property in any zone on a Flood Insurance Rate Map.
Flood Protection Information
Notice to: Lending Institutions & Real Estate & Insurance Agents
Subject: Flood Insurance Rate Map Zone Information
As a public service, the City of Lackawanna will provide you with the following information upon request:
•Whether the property is in or out of Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) as shown on the current Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) of the City.
•Additional flood insurance date for a site, such as the FIRM zone and the base flood elevation or depth, if shown on the FIRM.
•We have a handout on the flood insurance purchase requirements that can help people who need a mortgage or loan for a property in the SFHA.
If you would like to make an inquiry, please tell us the street address and, if available, the subdivision, lot and block number. We are open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 pm., Monday through Friday. Call us at (716) 827-6425 or visit the Department of Engineering located on the third floor, Room 311 of Lackawanna City Hall. Anyone in the office can provide the needed information. There is no charge for this service.
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Yupper!
So sad---they should be beating our doors down to move here!
