New Flood Maps Just As Unreadable As the Last

The bloated government agency known as FEMA recently issued a new set of preliminary floodplain maps for Travis County, moving some previously untouched properties into the new floodplain area and others out. If you're now in one of these sections of town, take heed: purchase flood insurance before the new maps are made official next year and you'll save a bit on rates. This applies to homeowners, renters and businessess.

Tonight and tomorrow night, the City's Watershed Protection and Development Review Department is hosting several public meetings around town to present the new maps and answer any questions you might have:

Central Austin
April 18, 1:30 p.m.
One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road
Third Floor Conference Room

South Austin
April 18, 6:30 p.m.
St. Elmo Elementary, 600 St. Elmo Road

North Austin
April 19, 6:30 p.m.
Andrews Elementary, 6801 Northeast Drive

Also, you can check out PDF versions of the map online.