The city of Roanoke Rapids clarified misstatements made in media interviews with flood victims, including an interview published in rrspin.com, about the city advising them years ago to cancel flood insurance.
“The City did not misinform the public on this issue,” City Manager Joseph Scherer said in a news release issued late this afternoon. “The letter in question is dated March 17, 1998 and was sent by the then Planning and Development Director to an insurance company in Rocky Mount.”
Scherer added that the content of the letter only confirms the completion of the city’s storm drainage improvements in the area of 13th and Ohio Streets, and noted that flood complaints from that area had been practically eliminated.
The letter then notes the city’s intent to obtain study estimates to determine if this same area could be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for consideration to be removed from its Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
“Nowhere in this letter is anything saying the area had been removed from any federal map documents and is not advising citizens they no longer had any need to carry any flood insurance coverage,” Scherer said, adding that he hopes this announcement puts to rest the rumors that the city advised citizens that they no longer needed flood insurance.
“That would never be the City’s responsibility,” he pointed out, “as all flood data information is the responsibility of FEMA.”
The letter can be found at this link.
