Lower Merion Floodplain Map Redrawn

LOWER MERION, Pa. (CBS) -- Hundreds of residents in Lower Merion will be receiving letters from the township in the next couple of weeks letting them know that they are being affected by some changes in the floodplain maps.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been working for the last seven years using the latest technology and the most current data to update the maps that show the floodplain in the township. The last formal update from FEMA was 1996, although there have been some township amendments since then.

Bob Duncan, Lower Merion's director of building and planning, says some residents will now be in the floodplain while others will be taken out.

"They've done further calculations, they've had additional information submitted to them that gives them a better idea of the exact location of the floodplain," Duncan explains.

The new maps will also give community officials a better understanding of the local flood risk and how people and property can be better protected.

Residents in a floodplain must secure flood insurance. A meeting for the affected residents will be held next month.

Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio 1060.