MORRIS COUNTY — After several brief delays, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has released its long-awaited revised preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (pFIRMs) for Morris County.
Municipal and County officials should receive paper versions of the maps in the next several days via mail.
Digital versions of the maps can be viewed by clicking here. This website also provides a search function for specific addresses. If you live in or near a flood zone, you are strongly encouraged to review the maps to see if you are affected.
Homeowners should make map revision requests to their municipalities, which will convey the information to FEMA.
FEMA will schedule two open house meetings for the public in early November. The exact dates will be announced by FEMA via public notices that placed in local newspapers (the county also intends to publicize the dates). FEMA’s formal 90-day Appeal Period for municipalities is expected to begin in the late fall.
Please visit Morris County’s FIRMs page to view these maps, and for information about the map adoption process, the appeal procedure, the public meeting schedule, and resources at the federal and local levels.
Once finalized and formally adopted, these maps will be used to determine if flood insurance is required and the rates that residential and commercial property owners will pay to the National Flood Insurance Program. The maps also will be utilized when reviewing development plans and enforcing floodplain management regulations.
The flood insurance rate maps currently in effect are 24-to-45 years old. Given their long-standing impact, the county encourages municipalities and property owners to take this rare opportunity to review, and if necessary, comment on the revised preliminary maps.
In addition, the maps will help determine eligibility for disaster relief and mitigation funding, and will offer the best source of data for understanding flood risk in communities, especially when considering future development.
Until the new maps are adopted, the existing ones will remain in effect.
To speak directly to a FEMA map specialist, call (877) FEMA MAP (1-877-336-2627) from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Questions also can be emailed to FEMA’s Mapping Center at FEMAMapSpecialist@riskmapcds.com, or to Jennifer McCulloch, Morris County Flood Mitigation Program Coordinator at jmcculloch@co.morris.nj.us
