Branch County Residents Invited to Attend Flood Map Information Open House

Release Date Release Number
R5-24-NR-011
Release Date:
April 9, 2024

CHICAGO – Representatives from FEMA will host a Flood Map Information Open House for communities in Branch County, Michigan, on April 18, 2024, from 5 – 7 PM. The open house will give residents a chance to review preliminary versions of the recently completed Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report and its accompanying preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). 

The FIS and the FIRMs provide base flood (also known as the 1%-annual-chance event) information, designate areas that are subject to significant flood hazards within the county and offer information that public officials may use to guide development in the floodplain. 

Experts at the open house will help residents understand flood risk and flood insurance, floodplain development regulations, and the mapping process. Residents can meet with experts one-on-one to view their own addresses on the new maps. They’ll learn about their specific risk and ways to help prevent flood loss. 

Once effective, the maps will be used as the basis for flood insurance ratings as well as local flood protection regulations adopted under the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA encourages public officials to use the maps to assist planning processes and prepare communities to quickly respond to and recover from future events.  

WHAT:              Branch County—Flood Map Information Open House  

WHEN:             April 18, 2024, 5–7 PM

WHERE:           Coldwater City Hall

                            1 Grand Street

                            Coldwater, MI 49036

Property owners, realtors, lenders, and insurance agents are urged to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about flood risk and hazard mitigation within their community. Digital files of the Preliminary FIRM and FIS report can be downloaded from www.fema.gov/preliminaryfloodhazarddata.

If you need a reasonable accommodation (sign language interpreters, Braille, CART, etc.), please send an email to FEMA-Region5-FloodInsuranceOutreach@fema.dhs.gov at least 48 hours before the event. Last minute requests will be accepted but may not be possible to fulfill. 

For more information, contact the FEMA News Desk at FEMA-R5-News-Desk@fema.dhs.gov

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