LAWRENCE CO. – On Tuesday morning during the commissioners’ meeting Emergency Management Director Valerie Luchauer reminded residents to check to see if they live in a designated floodplain.
A floodplain or bottomland is an area of land adjacent to a river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.
There are also restrictions in building or making repairs to structures in a floodplain.
“Some people may not even know they are now in a flood plain,” added Luchauer. “They may not have been in the past but are now. They need to check the free flood plain maps on the DNR website.”
To see if your property is in the flood plain visit the Department of Natural Resources Flood Plain Mapping site.
A flood ordinance enables persons who want to purchase flood insurance in Lawrence County the ability to do so, said Emergency Management Director Valerie Luchauer.
“In addition, if your home is in a designated flood plain and your home is damaged from recent flooding by more than 50% of your home’s value, you must get a permit from my office before repairing the home,” Luchauer added. “In some cases, the home must be elevated two feet above the 100-year flood elevation.”
For further information contact the Lawrence County Emergency Management office via email at lcema@lawrencecounty.in.gov or by phone at 812-277-9680.
Residents of floodplains face the very real risk of flooding and the devastation that it can cause. homes can be damaged or destroyed and property can be ruined. If you live in a floodplain, you can avoid or at least minimize the damage by planning today for flooding that might occur tomorrow.
Indiana Floodplain Information Portal
A new Indiana Floodplain Information Portal (INFIP) is available that will save users valuable time.
INFIP is designed to show flood risk associated with Indiana water bodies and provide information specifically for local and state floodplain permitting. The information is based on the regulatory floodplain limits, as floods exceeding the regulatory floodplain can and do occur.
With this new tool, the user can download a Floodplain Analysis and Regulatory Assessment (FARA) directly from the app. The tool reduces FARA wait times from 30-60 days to a matter of minutes. The user also has the option to file for staff review of their site but should only do so if:
- the nearest stream’s drainage area is greater than one square mile and there is no mapped floodway;
- there is not a mapped floodplain on the nearest stream to the point of interest;
- there is no mapped floodway for the stream nearest the point of interest; or,
- the point of interest is in a floodplain of another stream, but the stream nearest the point of interest does not have a mapped floodplain with a floodway of its own.
The new site can be found at infip.dnr.IN.gov.
