Just got back from my early morning walkies through pea soup. That’s what they used to call the fogs in London before they took measures to mitigate the pollution that was making things so bad. This morning’s weather is cloying to say the least. But enough about that.
My topic for this morning is FEMA Flood Maps. As a title searcher for more than four decades, I used to have to report on the flood designation of every property I searched. Paper copies of the flood maps were available at all the town halls, updated as necessary. It was my job to identify the correct map and the location of the property I was searching thereon. I presented the results along with my complete history of title transfers for at least 40 years or maybe much longer since the requirement was to go back to a good Warranty Deed. Quit Claim deeds or interfamily transfers do not count. Anyway, as I said, I became quite familiar with the government-issued flood maps, and the reason this information was required was that properties that were situated in a flood zone required additional insurance—known obviously as flood insurance. I never researched how expensive it might have been for anyone, I just reported whether it was required. Many experts were involved in the creation of these maps, and they are constantly updated to account for changing conditions. Or should I say they used to be updated? Looking just now on the FEMA website, I see that some of the information there has not been updated since 2023. I was curious about something I read on this subject and the cabins which got washed away in the recent tragedy. Perhaps if I need a project later I’ll look into this very topical subject some more.
But for a positive note, I want to share that I got my ShirleyGram from Shirley MacLaine yesterday, and it is chockablock full of fascinating information. I was pleased to know that she is still here (as she puts it), and I also found the great interview done last year by CBS Sunday Morning when Lee Cowan interviewed Shirley at her home in Santa Fe and discussed her latest book called “The Wall of Life: A Photographic Memoir” which of course I will have to find soon.
And as I dance to selections from our resident music expert here on Substack, Lee Penman, I try to put aside politics as much as possible. Particularly after teatime, I focus on myself, so I haven’t caught up with the latest political horror yet. The last thing I watched yesterday was the House in a deadlock over voting when a 5-minute vote stretched on for hours. I turned it off and watched my latest treat of traveling with Jack Whitehall and his father around the world. Much more fun and therapeutic.
But today is the GOOD TROUBLE LIVES ON protest in honor of John Lewis, and here in New London it will be from 5 to 7 in the evening at the Courthouse. I have done everything I can to advertise this (calling radio host Colin McEnroe twice and posting about it here) but that’s too close to the end of my day so I’ll forgive myself for not attending this time in person.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
RESIST ALWAYS
TTFN
I expect that were the flood plain map to be redrawn, it would exclude the "finger" that extends to the east from Egg Hill. Penns Creek is a good 30 feet or more below these houses some of which date back to the 1850s. But it was easier to draw a line along the old railroad right-of-way which cuts through that "finger" next to my property. Naturally when we got the notice that we needed to have flood insurance, we were confused until we saw how the map had been made. And sure enough, the lower end of our land does get rather wet after a heavy rain. So we hired a surveyor who placed one GPS device on the nearby marker and another next to our house, recorded the elevation readings from both for about 15 minutes and used that data to apply for a Letter Of Map Amendment (LOMA) and our flood insurance premium was refunded.
Glad to hear you are dancing:)