Residents and business owners throughout Biloxi will soon be receiving an expanded version of the city’s annual Storm & Flood Preparedness guide, and an online version is available now.
The 12-page compendium – up from the usual eight pages – includes a storm tracking map; information on evacuation routes and shelters; tips on how to create a storm plan for your family; frequently called numbers for local, state and federal agencies; and easy-to-understand information about the city’s construction permitting process.
New additions to the guide this year include a map showing the existing and FEMA-proposed floodplain in Biloxi, along with information for Spanish and Vietnamese audiences.
The guide, which is being printed this week, is scheduled to be mailed to nearly 25,000 Biloxi property owners next week..
Mayor A.J. Holloway, in a front-page message to Biloxians, noted that the city faces unprecedented challenges in the current hurricane, such as thousands temporarily living in FEMA trailers, a crippled drainage system, and only two of three bridges operating off the Biloxi peninsula.
Said Holloway: “Here’s the message I have for you: This is not the time to be scared. It’s the time to be prepared.”
The 12-page publication, which is now being printed, is one of the city’s responsibilities as a member of the National Flood Insurance Program — to help property owners reduce the risks associated with storms and flooding. As a result of the city’s efforts, Biloxians had enjoyed a 15 percent decrease in flood-insurance rates before Hurricane Katrina.
An online version of the mailout has been posted in the Storm & Flood section
of the city web site, but you can go directly to the new mailout clicking here.
Related info online
You can see maps that detail the impact of FEMA’s proposed revisions to the floodzone in Biloxi by clicking here.
You can hear background on the factors that guide FEMA in determining flood elevations in various communities by clicking here.
You can see real-time radar from a number of National Weather Service radar stations along the Gulf of Mexico through the city’s web site. To visit the radar site, click here.
