CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – The city of Conway says it wants to demolish homes in flood-prone areas.
Some neighborhoods have flooded three out of the last four years, most recently after Hurricane Florence.
“We’re not going to keep doing this again,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, while touring flood-damaged neighborhoods last week. “It’s not fair to people. It’s dangerous.”
Sen. Graham had a firm message for residents on the tour: rebuild away from flood zones.
“Some people don’t want to leave,” Sen. Graham said. “They’re going to build back again and I’m going to tell them, ‘If you do that, you’re doing it at your own peril.'”
Sen. Graham and other federal officials met with the city of Conway’s leaders during the trip.
They discussed FEMA’s incentive for homeowners to leave repeatedly flooded areas called the flood mitigation program.
“There are some areas of our city and our county that should not be building,” said city administrator Adam Emrick. “We need to remove those homes from harm’s way.”
In the buyout program, FEMA pays states and local governments to buy flood-prone properties from homeowners. Homes are knocked down and lots are usually left empty.
Conway is still in the Hurricane Matthew buyout program from 2016. The city is trying to get Florence victims into that program, instead of waiting for a new one, because many homes also flooded during Matthew.
Emrick will work with a consultant to navigate the long federal process.
“It’s getting an application together, getting funded from the state, from the federal government, being able to process that application, get an appraisal done of each house, make an offer to each house, get an asbestos report done and get demolition contractors involved,” Emrick said.
Emrick also says the city may need to change its flood maps.
“If (storms) keep happening with more regularity and more severity, then we will have to look at our flood plain,” he said.
About 90 Conway homeowners have expressed interest in the buyout program, or are already going through it, after Matthew and Florence.
Emrick says you should call the city if you’re interested in the buyouts.