Flood plain removal to save east El Paso residents millions of dollars on insurance costs

Hundreds of east El Paso residents from around the Hanks High School community got some welcomed news on Tuesday night at a community meeting held at the El Paso Community College Service Center Auditorium.

Residents applauded when they were told that their community will save over $2 million dollars a year moving forward thanks to the city working closely with Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove homes from the flood zone map.

FEMA recently agreed to remove 1,100 homes from the flood zone map, meaning that those families will no longer have to pay flood insurance rates, which had previously been as high as $200 a month.

It is a well-timed development since FEMA is set to double its flood insurance rates in 2021 meaning that residents could have ended up paying $400 a month for insurance.

The city had to meet 2 key criteria to get those homes moved from the flood zone.

They were told to make various drainage improvements around Pico Norte pond and to run hydrologic as well as hydrology analysis before they could submit that request to FEMA.

It took the city several months and over $2 dollars to meet those criteria, but they did and now the new flood zone designation will go into effect officially on December 23rd.

Homeowners in the area are set to enjoy more benefits than just the savings.

Being taken off the flood zone is expected to increase property values and better qualify those families for loans.