In a little more than a month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s updated Oʻahu flood maps go into effect. And thousands of properties are being added to the flood zone.
FEMA is updating Oʻahu’s flood insurance maps on June 10 to move nearly 4,000 properties into a designated flood zone. The change will impact thousands of homes on Oʻahu. Some that were in green, or non-flood zones until now will be in flood zones.O thers that have been in flood zones will no longer be considered at risk.
And the new maps will put dozens of commercial areas of Honolulu like Iwilei and Kapālama in special flood hazard areas.
According to FEMA, properties in flood zones have a one percent annual chance of flooding. Properties that are outside those zones have a 0.2% chance of flooding.
The new maps raise questions about whether property owners are going to be required to get flood insurance. That depends on whether or not there’s a mortgage on the property.
Someone who has a federally backed mortgage and a home in the flood zone will now have to buy flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.
The cost can be steep for oceanfront properties, whose owners could pay as much as $9,000 a year. But more inland properties could have bills of about $1,200 a year, or about $100 a month. It's even less for a condo owner.
On June 10, mortgage lenders will start sending letters to homeowners in flood zones to notify them they're now required to buy flood insurance. Once they receive the letters, homeowners will have 45 days to get a policy — or the lender will get it for them and add it to the cost of their mortgage.
