More Upstate New York Properties at Risk in Floods

Federal officials say that about 6,500 more properties in Broome Count, New York than originally believed are vulnerable to floods like one that devastated parts of the region in 2006.

Updated flood maps released Thursday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency now show about 11,000 properties could be threatened in the Susquehanna River basin.

One reason for the change: some levees in the county don’t meet current requirements, including one that the top of a levee or flood wall must be three feet above the water during a 100-year flood event.

The draft maps are the product of a three-year study and won’t be finalized for a year. Once they are, property owners will be required to buy flood insurance.

A similar review for Chemung County is due sometime next year.