Several articles in the Stuart Newsletter have reported on the new FEMA Flood Plain designation within Stuart Neighborhood. It's important because homes inside the 100 Year Flood Zone are required by banks and mortgage companies to carry flood insurance. This is no minor expense, and some of our residents have pointed out for years that the old flood plain area didn't make sense...
they didn't relish the idea of being required to buy flood insurance because the old flood plain maps hadn't been updated to reflect the changes made to Arcadia Creek downtown. The good news is that FEMA completed a comprehensive analysis of the area and the 100 Year Flood Zone in Stuart Neighborhood has indeed been made significantly smaller. Many homes may no longer be required to purchase flood insurance. The bad news was that FEMA hadn't sent the digital maps to the City of Kalamazoo so there was no way for homeowners to know if their house was affected by the change. The best the City could offer was an aerial photo map with the outlines of the new flood zones sketched in. Stuart residents waited for the digital maps to become available on the City website. And we waited. Finally, the Association contacted Congressman Fred Upton's office to make an official inquiry to FEMA. In two days, the FEMA maps were added to the City's website. You can find out the status of your house by going to the City website, clicking on the GIS/City Map link, clicking on CONTINUE TO MAPPING, entering your house number and street name, and once your property is displayed, selecting the FEMA 2010 overlay in the LAYERS tab to the left. (If you're not successful or slightly phobic with computers, contact the Stuart Office at 344-7432. We can help you.)
On the evening of Saturday, June 5, 2010, the entire southwest Michigan area was hit with a major thunderstorm. The National Weather Service had placed Kalamazoo, among other counties, in a flood warning, a tornado warning, and a thunderstorm warning. Many low-lying streets in Kalmazoo became impassable. Below is a video of Arcadia Creek, swollen with rain, filmed around 1am on Sunday, June 6. By this time, the downpour had stopped and the waters had begun to recede. But you can still see how our usually-gentle creek was handling the huge volumes of rain.
Several articles in the Stuart Newsletter have reported on the new FEMA Flood Plain designation within Stuart Neighborhood. It's important because homes inside the 100 Year Flood Zone are required by banks and mortgage companies to carry flood insurance. This is no minor expense, and some of our residents have pointed out for years that the old flood plain area didn't make sense...