A letter informing tens of thousands of South Florida homeowners that they must now get flood insurance is arriving in the mail, which is an unwelcome surprise.
That’s because their current classification as being in a high-risk flood zone explains this.
Data indicates that the majority of the thousands of parcels affected by the modification are located in Broward County. Nearly 48,000—more than half—of the approximately 89,000 Broward properties that currently need flood insurance are located in Miramar and Pembroke Pines.
Due to their location in a higher-risk flood zone, more than 45,000 more properties in Miami-Dade now require flood insurance.
According to Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute, just around one in five Florida homeowners carry flood insurance, leaving the other homeowners at risk of flooding.
“It doesn’t just mean hurricanes or tropical storms,” Friedlander stated. “We see severe rain events year-round in South Florida. You can have flooding on clear sunny days because of king tides.”
The majority of mortgaged homeowners must obtain flood insurance if their home is situated in a flood zone that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has designated. The new flood maps from FEMA have enlarged that coverage area.
“It has gone from an option for many people to now required,” Friedlander stated. “FEMA typically looks at long-term data, not just one storm. If the trends show higher risk in certain areas of South Florida, particularly Broward County, the maps will be adjusted.”
Friedlander continued, “All South Florida homeowners should consider flood insurance because it floods regularly in South Florida.”
The updated interactive flood zone map was made available by Broward County. To find out whether their home is in a flood zone, homeowners can also visit the FEMA website nationwide.
Read Also: PhD Student in Pennsylvania May Face Death Penalty for Alleged Murder of Friend’s Baby
Partitions of the new Broward flood zone per city:
| Miramar | 25,878 |
| Pembroke Pines | 22,079 |
| Fort Lauderdale | 9,455 |
| Hollywood | 7,392 |
| Oakland Park | 5,910 |
| Pompano Beach | 3,557 |
| Cooper City | 3,082 |
| Dania Beach | 3,055 |
| Wilton Manors | 1,868 |
