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Monday Flood Update

Posted by on July 27, 2010 | 0 comments

Deluge

The Village website put out another solid update today .. highlights:

• The DPW will be picking up flood debris for several weeks.  They cannot pick up e-waste like TVs and computers, but will do so at a later date.  Chipping / yard waste collection has been suspended as priority is given to collecting flood debris.
• Flood kits are available at the WFB police station with bleach, mops, gloves, etc.  Free of charge.
• The Shorewood/WFB health department can provide tetanus shots at no cost.  414-847-2710 for more information.
• Electrical, HVAC, plumbing permits are still necessary.. but the Village will not be charging for them at this time.   I know getting a permit is a pain, but think of it this way:  It's a free check of your contractor's work by a trained Village inspector. (EDIT: Reminder, this is for flood-related items.)

Finally, an item was forwarded to me about what a "100 year flood" really means.  It's a good read.

Sadly .. a 100 year flood doesn't mean Whitefish Bay is good for another 99 years.

Read on:

The phrase "100-year flood" has caused much confusion over the years.  Many mistakenly believe that it is a flood that occurs every 100 years. However, the phrase really means a flood that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. Floods are classified according to their frequency and depth.

For instance, there are 10-year, 25-year, 50-year, 100-year, and 500-year floods. A 100-year flood, although less frequent than a 10-year flood, is deeper—and far more destructive. For this reason, the 100-year flood is now more commonly called the "base flood."  

The chart below shows the statistical chances of flooding a building located in one of these higher risk flood areas has over different periods of time. Buildings located in 100-year flood areas are required to have flood insurance as a condition of receiving a federally backed mortgage loan or home equity loan.

Given that many mortgages have a repayment period of 30 years, you may want to point out that buildings in areas subject to a 100-year flood have a 26 percent chance of experiencing that flood during the life of the loan.

However, during that same period, there is only a 4 percent chance of a fire. So, the next time people say that they live in a 100-year floodplain, and the last 100-year flood was three years ago, so they don’t have to worry about another flood like that for the next 97 years, use this information to explain the real meaning of a 100-year flood.