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Leander staff outline FEMA LOMR update showing 2,034-acre net floodplain increase; council asks for safety maps and costs
Summary
Consultants and staff briefed City Council on a FEMA Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) project that incorporates NOAAAtlas 14 rainfall and new lidar, yielding a modeled net increase of about 2,034 acres in the 100-year floodplain and roughly 724 potentially impacted structures. Council asked staff for closer, safety-focused exhibits, a cost estimate,
Leander City Council heard an update Thursday on a multi-year effort to revise the city's official Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance maps through a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR).
Consultants and city engineers said updated rainfall estimates and more recent lidar topography have produced revised models that expand the mapped 100-year floodplain and identify potentially affected buildings.
"This is a letter from FEMA officially revising the National Flood Insurance Program maps," said Tatum Lawton, a consultant with Lochner, describing a LOMR application submitted to FEMA. Lawton and City Assistant Engineer Sarvesh Takala presented the phase-1 modeling work and options for phase 2.
Why it matters: the city has been regulating to NOAAAtlas 14 rainfall and newer lidar for several years, but FEMA's official flood insurance rate maps remain based on older data. Updating the FEMA models would align the regulatory maps used for insurance and broader planning with the city's current technical basis.
What the models show: Lawton and Takala said the citywide model revisions incorporate Atlas 14 rainfall depths and updated topography. Leander's effective FEMA maps currently show about 1,430 acres…
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