Flood Hazard

The Town of Ulysses is one of nearly 20,000 communities across the United States that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. This program requires the town to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances and development regulations to reduce future flood damage. In return, the National Flood Insurance Program makes federally-supported flood insurance available to homeowners, renters, and business owners in the Town of Ulysses' flood hazard areas.

The basic premise of this program is that it is safer and less costly to minimize flood damage through appropriate development codes in flood hazard areas, and to insure against future flood damage instead of relying on more costly disaster-relief assistance after a flood event.

What are Flood Hazard Areas?

Areas that flood are given different designations such as floodway and floodway fringe. The designations are based on the Federal Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), maps based on detailed inter-agency collaboration and which form the standards for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Check to see if your property is within a flood hazard area

FEMA Flood Map Service Center

Tompkins County Natural Resources Inventory

For more information about flood hazard areas or development in these areas please see the information links below.
Prelimiary FIRM Update