The City of Biloxi next week is sending property owners an annual reminder about the benefits of having flood insurance and that the time to purchase flood insurance is now, more than a month before June 1, when hurricane season begins.
Mayor A.J. Holloway acknowledged that some residents may question why the city is sending such a notice, particularly where property owners lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina.
The postcard, Holloway explained, is one of the city’s responsibilities as a member of the National Flood Insurance Program.
“Biloxi residents have seen the cost of their flood-insurance premiums reduced by 15 percent in the past several years because of our efforts to educate them on ways to minimize the risk of damage from flooding,” Holloway said. “In order to maintain those discounts for our residents, we’re mandated to do these things each year.
“Plus, as many have learned, having flood insurance is a good thing to have.”
This year, the city is again sending a revised version of a notice that was sent to residents in April 2005, months before Hurricane Katrina. To see the updated notice, which shows before-and-after photos of a flooded area, plus a post-Katrina photo of the same area, click here.
Do you live in a flood-prone area?
Rick Stickler, the city’s Floodplain Administrator, likes to remind residents that all areas are floodprone, it’s just that some are more flood-prone than others.
But the fact is that the size of the flood zone in the city of Biloxi will increase significantly – officially — on May 1, when the advisory flood elevations become law.
In fact a large portion of the Biloxi peninsula — from east of downtown to Point Cadet — will be in a flood zone.
To see maps that show a comparison of flood zones, and to hear the explanation of how flood zones are determined, click here.
