Related Topic:
"Climate Change"___________________________
Preliminary flood maps recasts risks along Hackensack RiverSaturday, December 15, 2012 Last updated: Saturday December 15, 2012, 9:02 PM
BY SHAWN BOBURG
STAFF WRITER
The Record
Not even a once-in-a-lifetime storm would cause the Hackensack River’s tidal waters to swell into the nearby intersection of South River Street and Wyscoki Place in Hackensack — at least, that’s what the federal government’s official flood maps have indicated for years.
But people who live and work in that area know better, and new preliminary maps released Saturday illustrate that flooding considered unimaginable only decades ago has become a real possibility in low-lying areas throughout North Jersey.
The intersection in Hackensack and several blocks farther west from the Hackensack River would be underwater during a so-called 100-year storm, the new maps predict. The older maps were developed by the federal government 25 years ago.
In anticipation of extensive rebuilding in areas left underwater by superstorm Sandy, the federal government released the new “advisory” flood maps for 10 New Jersey coastal counties, including Bergen County.
The maps are preliminary and are scheduled to go through a review process, which could take more than a year.
Flood zones could expand significantly in some areas, encircling new neighborhoods and industrial parks. Federal officials said the new data showed an average rise in flooding potentials of between one and five feet during 100-year storms, weather events so dire that they have only a 1 percent chance of occurring any given year.
“Having this now will enable New Jersey to refocus on smart rebuilding,” Marc Ferzan, Governor Christie’s choice to manage the state’s rebuilding efforts, said during a press briefing on Friday.
Although the complexity of the maps, available for online viewing as of Saturday, made it difficult to immediately assess the overall impact on Bergen County homes and businesses, examples of the impending changes were evident in small-scale comparisons of neighborhoods.
A nearly one-mile-wide section of industrial buildings to the north of Teterboro Airport, between Routes 46 and 80, would now be in the advisory flood zone. So would a half-mile wild swath straddling Green Street as it runs from Route 80 in South Hackensack to its intersection with Essex Street in Hackensack.
The “advisory maps” were released earlier than officials had planned. After Sandy devastated the region, state and federal officials decided to move up the calendar to provide the public with the more accurate flood maps in the hope that they help guide rebuilding efforts.
New official statewide maps are not expected to be released until mid-2013.
The changing geography of flood lines will likely hold insurance implications for property owners within the projected reach of a 100-year storm, but not right away.
The maps are used to determine premiums in the federal flood-insurance program but will not be adopted until 2014 and will have no immediate impact on flood insurance premiums, officials said. Flood-insurance premiums are nevertheless expected to rise next year because federal subsidies to the insured are ending Jan. 1.
Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which released the maps, urged homeowners in the affected areas to consider measures to protect their properties, including elevating them. Building at the higher elevations will likely save them on flood insurance in the future, they said Friday.
“It’s important to note that the risk has gone up,” said Ryan Pietrimeli, the FEMA risk analysis branch chief. “Use this information to make informed opinions.”
FEMA also developed advisory maps for coastal areas of the Gulf region after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and many communities adopted them, the agency said, resulting in homes and businesses that were rebuilt higher.
Jeff Tittel of the Sierra Club said the maps should not only be used for rebuilding but should be adopted for zoning and regulatory programs at the state level.
“These maps are a wake-up call when it comes to rebuilding in New Jersey because we see more areas that are subject to flooding,” he said. Changes to zoning and other regulations based on the maps would further limit development in those areas, he said.
The new maps can be viewed at region2coastal.com.
________________________________________
View Larger Map
