Residents in high-risk flood zones urged to acquire insurance

Residents in three flood-prone areas in Clark County have some decisions to make in order to ensure they're not under water one day.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency re-evaluated neighborhoods in the northwest, central Las Vegas Valley and Moapa Valley and determined them to be within the 100-year high-risk flood zone.

The three areas are at or near:

n Gowan Road and Rancho Drive.

n The Las Vegas Wash through Desert Rose Golf Course, 5483 Club House Drive.

n Muddy River near the Bowman Reservoir Diversion Canal in the Moapa Valley area.

This isn't new information for residents living in the vulnerable areas. More than a dozen notices have been sent to about 1,800 residents via the Clark County Regional Flood Control District.

But special rate information regarding how to keep their homes covered has been newly updated.

Residents living in these areas will be required to purchase flood insurance when the change is finalized and reflected in FEMA maps this year.

While flood insurance is not required until the maps officially change, Regional Flood Control District officials say it is in the best interest of residents in flood-prone identified areas to purchase flood insurance now to protect their homes and take advantage of lower premiums prior to the change.

Community meetings are planned for next week for valley residents to learn more about the re-evaluations and flood insurance requirements.

One is set for 5-7 p.m. May 25 at the Desert Rose Golf Course, for residents in the Las Vegas Wash area near the course. The other is set for 5-7 p.m. May 26 at the Mountain Crest Neighborhood Services Center, 4701 N. Durango Drive, for residents living in the Gowan Road and Rancho Drive area.

Kevin Eubanks, assistant general manager for the Regional Flood Control District, said the flood hazard for a 100-year flood, which is another term for a 1 percent chance of flooding in any given year, is equal in all three zones.

But upgrades and protections to the three zones are scheduled for varying times within the next 10 years as funding is secured. Regardless of when the changes are implemented, new FEMA maps are expected between July and November.

"It would behoove people to buy flood insurance now before the flood hazard area becomes published," Eubanks said. "We are going to gear (the open house meetings) toward answering any questions about the change and primarily to encourage people to get flood insurance now for a hazard we believe exists today."

Dawn Fisler, owner and agent of Iinsure4u.com, said local flooding is a real danger . Fisler, a lifelong Las Vegan, said she remembers historic floods that washed through the valley. There were floods that put parts of Caesars Palace and the Imperial Palace under water. There were flood runoffs that were so deep that Fisler's horses swam in them.

If residents purchase flood insurance before July, they can receive a preferred rate of $350 for two years, Fisler said.

After the maps are re-evaluated, the special rate will dissolve.

More charges await if homeowners delay purchasing the coverage, Fisler said.

"If they wait, they will have to spend, at their own expense, about $250-$300 to have an engineering survey to come to have their elevation shot for that parcel," she said. "That will get them an elevation certificate, but they'll still pay between $300 and $1,000 in flood insurance additional to their homeowner's policy."

Homeowner's insurance does not cover flood damage. Fisler added that the Regional Flood Control District also contacted banks that co-own the flood-vulnerable homes, and if residents don't voluntarily seek coverage, the banks would take on the premium at the homeowner's expense.

Anyone without a federally backed mortgage or whose home is owned outright is not required by FEMA to purchase flood insurance. However, it is suggested that homeowners with residences in areas vulnerable to flooding purchase the coverage.

To see whether a home is in the flood-vulnerable areas, visit ccrfcd.org and click the link Flood Zone Changes near the top of the home page . Then type in a street address to find out if the property's designation will be changing.

For more information, call 685-0000. Spanish-speaking options are available.

For more information on flood insurance, visit floodsmart.gov/floodsmart .

Contact Centennial and Paradise View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.