FEMA Announces Substantial Damage List in Central

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News — CITY OF CENTRAL, Louisiana — FEMA has released a list of nearly 1,000 homes in Central which the federal agency estimates to have sustained “substantial damage” during flooding August 12.  To view list, click here: https://centralcitynews.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/COC-50-100-ADDRESS-Alphabetical.xls “Substantial damage” means the home lost more than 50 percent of its value as a result of the flood.  A home in Flood Plain A or AE  which received more than three feet of water and had substantial damage would be required to be elevated above the base flood level before it could be repaired, according to federal guidelines.

The list, which is being published on www.centralcitynews.us, was released by the City of Central, in order to let citizens know FEMA’s determination, so that citizens can appeal that decision if they desire to do so.  If a citizen’s property is on the Substantially Damaged List and they do not appeal the decision, they could have problems getting city permits to work on the property in the future.  In addition, a purchaser of the property could have trouble getting financing, because it would be impossible to obtain flood insurance.

Any resident who wishes to appeal the FEMA estimate should send an email to Central Municipal Services at flood@central-la.gov.  The email should include your name, address, and a good contact telephone number, a list of documents that you have, such as a permit to rebuild if you have one, slab elevation certificate, recent appraisal, recent documents of cash sale, contractors estimate to rebuild, and any other relevant documents.

The City of Central will have the power to review the FEMA estimate and make changes. If the city determines that the damage was less than 50 percent, then the home will not be required to be elevated.

Some residents believe FEMA’s estimates are deeply flawed and completely unreliable because of the methodology used.  FEMA estimated the pre-flood value of all houses in Central at $113 a square foot.

Central City Councilman Shane Evans said city officials believe that many and perhaps most of the houses on the FEMA list could be there incorrectly.  “If you think about it, because this was a flood without wind, roofs in Central were not damaged.  Because heat and air are usually in attics and the water did not go that high, there was no damage to heat and air.  Because the water stayed around only 12 to 24 hours, air conditioner compressors were undamaged and slabs and foundations were undamaged.  This has to be factored into damage estimates,” Evans said.

Evans said FEMA had told the city that structures that received less than 36 inches of water would be exempt from being considered as having “substantial damage,” but a number of such residences were included in the list released today.

FEMA workers who did damage estimates had no access to records of past sales or appraisals but rather worked from their general estimate of the value of residential property in the city.  For that reason, some residents say the FEMA numbers are fundamentally flawed.

Any attempt to require residents to elevate their homes could be met with lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the action as a “taking” of private property without just compensation as required the U.S. Constitution.  There is also a possible argument that FEMA’s actions violate the “equal protection” guarantees of the 14th Amendment, since victims of other disasters such as earthquakes and wildfires are not held to such standards.

FEMA attempts to enforce its standards by requiring local governments such as the City of Central to adopt ordinances in compliance with the standards.  Otherwise, residents of the city will not be eligible to participate in the federal flood insurance program.

FEMA also released its list of residences that were Not Substantially Damaged.  To view that list, click here: https://centralcitynews.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/COC-0-49-ADDRESS-Alphabetical.xls.  A home on that list is free to apply to the City of Central for permits to make necessary repairs without any further action.  However, any citizen who wants to appeal that determination is also free to do so by filing the same information listed above being sent to flood@central-la.gov.

Any resident of the City of Central whose home in Flood Zones A and AE flooded but which is not on either the Substantially Damaged List or the Not Substantially Damaged List should contact City of Central Municipal Services Center.

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News