About 70% of the 2300 homes that flooded in west Harris County last April were not in the mapped floodplain and 65% of the are that flooded during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 were not in the mapped floodplain. So the floodplain boundaries have changed, right? FEMA remapped using digital cameras from planes, right? Yes, but… don’t get confused by the labels like “100 year floodplain.”   

A “100 year” flood has a minimum of 1% chance of occurring EVERY year (not every 100 years). A “500 year flood” has a 2% chance of occurring EVERY year (not every 500 years).  So…let’s just use a 30 year term and look at reality: a home in a 100 year floodplain has at least a 26% chance of flooding in this 30 year span and a home in a 500 year floodplain has at least a 6% change of flooding.  Basically you live in Houston and you need flood insurance. You just get to pay less for it if you’re not in a floodplain. 

Know what the terms mean and know your options. Research the facts at the National Flood Insurance Program online at www.floods-mart.gov or the Harris Count Flood Control Division at www.hcfcd.org.