WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker today encouraged residents in Lowndes County to attend an upcoming meeting to find out more about floodplain management and potential changes to the floodplain maps in their communities.

The Mississippi Flood Map Modernization Initiative Team will host a Flood Risk Open House in Columbus from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Monday, Nov. 16, in the lower level of the Trotter Convention Center, 402 Second Avenue North. 

Senator Cochran said: “This meeting represents an opportunity for people in Lowndes County to take an active role in local floodplain management. Our state has experienced significant flooding events in the past, and I am hopeful these meetings will engage and educate the public about flood risk and mitigation.”

Senator Wicker said: “All counties in Mississippi are now going through this floodplain review process, and it is important to have public participation.  I strongly encourage residents to attend their local meeting to learn more about the process from local, state, and federal officials.”

The open house will provide the public with an opportunity to review the recently completed preliminary Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and its accompanying preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), which include base flood information and the identification of areas subject to flood hazards within Lowndes County. 

Local, state, and federal officials will be present to provide the public with information about flood risk, flood insurance, floodplain development requirements, and the process for floodplain mapping within Lowndes County and its incorporated communities. Once the preliminary FIRMs become effective, these maps will be used by floodplain permit officials, builders and developers, lenders, realtors, insurance agents, and the general public to determine flood risk.

The preliminary map for the county is available for viewing at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality website.  The map for Lowndes County can be viewed here. 

Property owners, realtors, lenders, and insurance agents are encouraged to attend and take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about flood risk and hazard mitigation within Lowndes County. 

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