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Federal Emergency Management Agency <br /> g Y Mana g g Y <br /> ND SEA' Washington, D.C. 20472 <br /> ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING <br /> LETTERS OF MAP AMENDMENT <br /> When making determinations on requests for Letters of Map Amendment (LOMAs), the <br /> Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) bases its <br /> determination on the flood hazard information available at the time of the determination. <br /> Requesters should be aware that flood conditions may change or new information may be <br /> generated that would supersede FEMA's determination. In such cases, the community will be <br /> informed by letter. <br /> Requesters also should be aware that removal of a property (parcel of land or structure) from the <br /> Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) means FEMA has determined the property is not subject to <br /> inundation by the flood having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given <br /> year (base flood). This does not mean the property is not subject to other flood hazards. The <br /> property could be inundated by a flood with a magnitude greater than the base flood or by <br /> localized flooding not shown on the effective National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)map. <br /> The effect of a LOMA is it removes the Federal requirement for the lender to require flood <br /> insurance coverage for the property described. The LOMA is not a waiver of the condition that <br /> the property owner maintain flood insurance coverage for the property. Only the lender can <br /> waive the flood insurance purchase requirement because the lender imposed the requirement. <br /> The property owner must request and receive a written waiver from the lender before canceling <br /> the policy. The lender may determine, on its own as a business decision that it wishes to continue <br /> the flood insurance requirement to protect its financial risk on the loan. <br /> The LOMA provides FEMA's comment on the mandatory flood insurance requirements of the <br /> NFIP as they apply to a particular property. A LOMA is not a building permit, nor should it be <br /> construed as such. Any development, new construction, or substantial improvement of a <br /> property impacted by a LOMA must comply with all applicable State and local criteria and other <br /> Federal criteria. <br /> Even though structures are not located in an SFHA, as mentioned above, they could be flooded <br /> by a flooding event with a greater magnitude than the base flood. In fact, more than 25 percent <br /> of all claims paid by the NFIP are for policies for structures located outside the SFHA in Zones <br /> B, C, X (shaded), or X (unshaded). More than one-fourth of all policies purchased under the <br /> NFIP protect structures located in these zones. The risk to structures located outside SFHAs is <br /> just not as great as the risk to structures located in SFHAs. Finally, approximately 90 percent of <br /> all federally declared disasters are caused by flooding, and homeowners insurance does not <br /> provide financial protection from this flooding. Therefore, FEMA encourages the widest <br /> possible coverage under the NFIP. <br /> LOMAs are based on minimum criteria established by the NFIP. State, county, and community <br /> officials, based on knowledge of local conditions and in the interest of safety, may set higher <br /> standards for construction in the SFHA. If a State, county, or community has adopted more <br /> restrictive and comprehensive floodplain management criteria, these criteria take precedence <br /> over the minimum Federal criteria. <br />