Thousands of Palm Beach County residents are about to become new flood insurance customers.
That's the result of flood hazard zone maps just finalized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The maps become official on October 5th, and as many as 50,839 homes in those zones, and the homeowners who have federally-backed mortgages, will be required to buy flood insurance.
Depending on the level of risk in a particular zone, flood insurance can cost anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars.
A majority of the newly classified high-risk properties are in the western part of the county, including Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres and Westgate.
On the other hand, FEMA removed 45,640 properties from high-risk zones and into zones where flood insurance won’t be required. Those include newer engineered subdivisions in West Boca and other southwestern parts of the county.
Aother 36,983 properties formerly in high-risk flood zones will remain in the same category.
That leaves 301,432 properties that weren’t in high-risk flood zones before the new maps and will continue not to be.