FLOOD INSURANCE CHARGE GOES WAY OF DINOSAURS.Byline: - Rachel Uranga Some 365 Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. homeowners can say goodbye to at least one pesky bill beginning next year thanks to boundary changes made in the federal flood plain maps. The changes mean residents in a 150-acre area of east Simi Valley will not have to buy flood insurance Flood insurance denotes the specific insurance coverage against property loss from flooding. To determine risk factors for specific properties, insurers will often refer to topographical maps that denote lowlands and floodplains that are susceptible to flooding. to obtain home loans. It can cost $600 a house. City officials say the change will result in more than $1 million in savings for local property owners over the next five years. ``It's great for the residents. It's an area that was severely damaged in the Northridge Earthquake of 1994 and it's an area that has had its challenges,'' said Laura Magelnicki, assistant city manager. Owners often grouse grouse, common name for a game bird of the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 18 species. Grouse are henlike terrestrial birds, protectively plumaged in shades of red, brown, and gray. at the required insurance, which is meant to cover homes that have a 1 percent a year chance of being immersed in floodwaters. Officials determine that vulnerability by looking at topography and drainage mechanisms. Over the past several years, the city has pushed county and federal officials to annex homes from the flood plain area, although several earlier efforts yielded a much smaller annexation. Earlier this year, the Ventura County Flood Control District along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical spent $6.2 million to enlarge drainage channels along the Arroyo Simi between Stow Street and the Union Pacific Railroad Union Pacific Railroad, transportation company chartered (1862) by Congress to build part of the nation's first transcontinental railroad line. Under terms of the Pacific Railroads Act, the Union Pacific was authorized to build a line westward from Omaha, Nebr. crossing, placing several hundred acres of homes out of danger's way, officials said. The channel that runs along the Arroyo Simi had been weakened in the Northridge Earthquake, raising concerns about its stability. Engineers replaced 3,200 feet of the damaged channel earlier this year. In other parts of the city, intense development has in part added to the floodplain floodplain, level land along the course of a river formed by the deposition of sediment during periodic floods. Floodplains contain such features as levees, backswamps, delta plains, and oxbow lakes. , officials said. |
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