Tulsa Receives Highest Flood Management Rating, Decreasing Insurance Premiums

If you live in Tulsa and want to buy flood insurance, you'll soon get a big discount. Tulsa is now getting national recognition for its flood plain management.

The city is now one of two cities nationwide to achieve a Class 1 rating from FEMA, out of more than 15 hundred cities and counties.

"We're looking to protect the public. It's not just people who live in properties near creeks, it's also the streets," said Tulsa engineer Gary McCormick. 

McCormick said the city has been improving its flooding system since the 70s, especially after the major flood in 1984, that killed more than a dozen people and flooded hundreds of homes.

"The citizens, they were tired of being flooded. So, there was a huge outcry to make a change to upgrade development standards flood plain standards," McCormick explained. 

McCormick said one of the main things engineers did after the flood is remove homes from dangerous flood plains and replace them with parks and fields. 

Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready said Tulsa's Class 1 ranking will save people more money. He said the city was a Class 2 since the early 2000's, which earned homeowners a 40% discount. Now with the Class 1 ranking, homeowners can now get up to 45% in savings. 

"The average premium hear her last I looked it was about $700 for flood policy, that's in our area. So, with a 5% additional discount you're talking about $35 in savings," Mulready said.

 The discount will start next April. Mulready encourages people to consider buying flood insurance ---especially before severe weather season.

"If the rains where you live, it will flood where you live. People will pay more if they're in high-risk areas and some people play less. So, you should take a fresh look at it," Mulready said. 

If you live within city limits and are not quite sure if you live in a floodplain, you can call the number 311 to get that information.

The City of Tulsa share the following information in a press release: 

"The Community Rating System is a voluntary program for flood loss reduction in which communities that go beyond the minimum floodplain management requirements earn flood insurance discounts for residents. The Federal Emergency Management Agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security administers the program."