Spent two hours yesterday stuck in the mud. Winch couldn't budge me. Of course I was in the middle of a field with nothing but a Tpost to pull against. I was less than 20 feet from a realatively dry spot when GMC's better idea "Stabile Trac" shut the engine down when it dtected wheel spin. When I lost momentum it was all she wrote. Farmer spotted me about 6PM and drove the biggest blue Ford tractor I've ever seen and dragged me out. I'm still cleaning gumbo off of everything. Won't belong till the flooding starts. Business is booming in Elevation Certificates.
Is business booming cause of zone A?
No, snowpack is 200% of normal. Everyone is getting Flood Insurance. If you're inside the AE zone they are requiring Elevation Certificates. In 2011 it flooded and the FEMA maps we're fairly accurate about potential flood areas. If I was living on the Flood Plain I would definitely get Flood Insurance. Your rate is based on how far your house is above or below the BFE. If you above really cheap. Under the rates really go up.
FEMA is trying to atone for the New Orleans debacle is my belief.
We get most of our work from Zone A's, basically the local Zone A's represent hatching put on a map by a blind guy somewhere. Our zone AE work is rare, but a few dribble in. The flooding that has happened since the new AE maps validate the work put into them very well.
I agree, if I was in a Zone AE I would be getting a cert and insurance.
Stephen Ward rebuilt the Elevation Certificate. It works like a Champ. I struggled with FEMA's version for 6 hours and couldn't get it to print. If you create a new PDF file of Stephen's Certificate it will significantly reduce file size.
Mud would be a welcome sight here in sunny South Florida. As a few local hunters say, "It's drier than a popcorn fart out there"