YORK COUNTY, Pa. -- Should York County’s flood plain maps be redrawn? That’s the question a lot of folks have right now.
The wet summer and damaging floods in York Country has some wondering if their homes should be re-classified as a flood zone.
"If we live in an area that is prone to flooding I would definitely want flood insurance," said Susan Boyer of Hellam Township.
Susan Boyer, of York County, lives outside of what FEMA's maps considers a flood zone.
She is one of many without flood insurance impacted by devastating flood waters last month.
"We didn't see a need being that we don't live near any water near the creek or any water," said Boyer.
John Seitz with York County`s Planning Commission agrees that flood plain maps aren't always the most reliable.
"There's quite a bit of inaccuracy," said Seitz.
Seitz says the biggest problem is when people's homes are impacted by flooding but aren't on FEMA's flood plain map, just like Boyer.
"So they don't need flood insurance if they're not in it, but that doesn't mean they can't get flooded," said Setiz.
FOX43 reached out to FEMA about their mapping process and they replied with the following statement:
"When the maps are created FEMA incorporates multiple data points such as historical flooding, geography and hydrography, among others to map the area of greatest risk," said a FEMA spokesperson.
"So if you have a 500 year flood you'll still get flooded even though you're not in the 100 year flood plain," said Seitz.
Getting the flood plain lines redrawn by FEMA takes several steps.
"FEMA requests a bunch of information including municipal information, public meetings, all kinds of research and data," added Seitz.
All which can come at a hefty price.
"The way to make accurate maps is to do actual hydrologic studies which takes a lot of time and a lot of money," said Seitz.
"I think then a study needs to be done of the area and if homes are prone to flooding in this area then maybe something should be done about that," said Boyer.
York County’s Planning Commission says it is working alongside municipalities and York County’s Emergency Management Agency to address flooding issues.
They say the more people can report flood damage to their homes, the more likely it will be that those lines could be possibly redrawn.
The last time York County's flood lines were redrawn on the map was in 2015.
For more information on how flood plain maps are redrawn visit: fema.gov
