Giving FIRM answers

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be hosting a series of virtual open houses for Carbon County residents in two weeks. The open houses, which will run for three consecutive days, will allow residents to learn about their flood risk and how to protect their property.

The virtual open houses, which are being held over Zoom, follow the release of the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The new FIRM was developed in cooperation between FEMA, Carbon County and local municipalities and is based on updated modeling and data. The new FIRM also is intended to provide more precise flood hazard information than the current maps, which are considered to be outdated.

According to a release from FEMA, flood risks change over time due to construction and development, environmental changes, floodplains widening or shifting, and other factors. FIRMs are updated periodically to reflect such changes.

Each virtual open house will include a brief presentation followed by a question and answer session. This session will include a variety of specialists who will be available to answer questions about flood insurance, engineering and more. FEMA encourages all Carbon County residents to attend regardless of whether they are home and business owners, renters, realtors, insurance agents or mortgage lenders.

The virtual open houses will begin on September 14 and end on September 16. Each open house will begin at 5 p.m. and run approximately an hour and a half. To register for the virtual open house, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/carbon-county-flood-risk-open-houses-tickets-117597221455.