Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach hosts flood-risk workshop this week

Staff Report
·2 min read

The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach will hold its second flood-risk workshop of the year from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.

The first was held in April. That open-house style event provided participants with information about flood risk and how to protect their homes from rising waters.

The Friday event will continue that theme, sharing information with participants on how they may be affected by new Federal Emergency Management Agency maps and flood insurance rates.

It will feature ''interactive tables where residents can stop and learn about elevation certification, flood insurance, and different approaches to flood-proofing, all customized to their property. Information will be available to guide residents’ decision-making on this issue of increasing importance,'' according to a statement from the foundation. The group is co-hosting the free event along with the town and Resilient Enterprise Solutions, a Pittsburgh-based company that specializes in home elevation, flood-proofing and climate communication.

Palm Beach civil engineer Craig Hauschild helps West Palm Beach resident Ann Tyler understand what she can do to keep her garage from flooding during a flood-risk workshop in April at the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach.
Palm Beach civil engineer Craig Hauschild helps West Palm Beach resident Ann Tyler understand what she can do to keep her garage from flooding during a flood-risk workshop in April at the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach.

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New FEMA maps most likely will cause flood insurance rates to rise, George Fechter, chairman of Resilient Enterprise Solutions, said in April. “Now is the time to get serious about pre-disaster flood prevention, bolstering our homes in advance of storms, not after,” he said.

Nearly half of the homes in Palm Beach are in Special Flood Hazard areas as defined by FEMA, according to the preservation foundation.

Amanda Skier, the foundation's executive director, said flood risk as a result of climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing Palm Beach and South Florida today.

"I think there's a lot of education needed around it," she said in April. "This workshop is an opportunity for people to interact with a live person and ask the questions they need to ask to understand it a little better."

Friday's event will be held at Pan's Garden, 386 Hibiscus Ave.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach to host flood-risk workshop