DARE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ADOPT NEW FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAPS

• The Dare County Board of Commissioners adopted the revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) on May 5, 2020.   
• The effective date of the new maps is June 19, 2020. The maps can be used for flood insurance rating purposes on or after this date. 

Although the FIRMs have been finalized by the federal government, Dare County and all local municipalities are required to adopt the maps. All of the towns in Dare County have also adopted the flood maps and have revised their respective Flood Damage Prevention Ordinances.     

The Dare County Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance (FDPO) was updated in conjunction with the revised FIRMs. The Dare County ordinance only applies in the unincorporated areas of Dare County. Town ordinances apply in their jurisdictions. The revisions to the Dare County FDPO include a local elevation standard that applies in unincorporated Dare County in designated Shaded X or X zones on the revised FIRMs. This local elevation standard establishes a regulatory flood elevation level of 8 feet for Shaded X and X zones.  A freeboard of 3 feet is established for AE and AO flood zones designated on the revised FIRMs and a 1-foot freeboard for VE zones.           

The revised FIRMs may be viewed at the North Carolina Flood Risk Mapping System webpage at https://fris.nc.gov/fris/.