Todd Apfel (right) , Tama County Environmental Health officer, and Todd Bouma, DNR National Flood Insurance Program specialist check preliminary flood hazard area maps for the county at the Reinig-Toledo Civic Center on Tuesday, April 30. The maps have been made available at cities throughout and may be viewed at http://www.www.iowafloodmaps.org Central Iowa Press/John Speer

While a breech of the flood levy Tuesday in Davenport sent flood waters into downtown and repercussions of earlier flooding in western Iowa continues to be in the forefront, revised flood hazard area maps for all of Tama County were available for inspection on Tuesday, April 30, at the Reinig-Toledo Civic Center. City officials from Tama, Toledo and Garwin and Todd Apfel, Tama County Environmental Health officer, were on hand to gather information provided by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for the preliminary revisions in flood mapping. Termed “Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs)” information from a new topographical survey of the entire state has enabled the DNR to develop the maps. They are based upon “accurate terrain data” now available, Ken Bouma, a DNR National Flood Insurance Program specialist said. That’s where Tama County residents in areas pinpointed for possible flooding may want to find out more. Chris Kahle, DNR Geographical Information Section lead, said it is expected the maps will be finalized in late 2020 or early 2021. In the meantime, there will be a 90-day appeal process offered during up coming months. A Public Notice will advise of the window of opportunity if you wish to challenge the rating of your property./ It’s not just the city of Chelsea or along Wolf Creek north of Traer. The maps pinpoints areas of possible flooding in a number of areas. Some of these are remote and some in an area along a waterway where it is likely known for flooding to be possible. DNR officials in Toledo Tuesday said there is not a lot of change for Tama county as a whole. However, those in flood zones need to be aware “the effective FIRMs are the maps currently being used by mortgage companies to determine if properties need flood insurance.” The maps can tell if your property may be subject to change. While members of the public and some representatives were scarce on Tuesday, the maps have been made available to cites and the county and are accessible at http://www.www.iowafloodmaps.org