ANDERSON — Madison County residents were given a chance to check out newly updated Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps to determine if they must protect their homes with flood insurance.

FEMA, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and representatives from Madison County communities had a flood risk open house Wednesday, in which residents were given a look at the maps that would show whether their properties had been re-evaluated for flood risk.

Homeowners in flood plains who have mortgages backed by the federal government — which includes most mortgages — are required to have flood insurance. With the re-evaluation, homeowners are given a chance to dispute whether they should be forced to have flood protection.

“I shouldn’t have to have it,” said Debbie Huffman, who lives on Mill Creek Drive in Chesterfield. “I pay $1,200 a year for nothing.”

Huffman has lived in her home for 51 and has never had floodwaters reach her home, although her property abuts the creek. However, her property has been considered part of the flood plain since the first flood maps were made in 1974. She and other Chesterfield residents plan to take their concerns to the town’s council meeting Monday.

Meanwhile, Huffman’s mother, Doris Kane, lives directly across from White River, but her house is not considered part of the flood plain.

Huffman said she never knew where to turn to dispute her home’s flood plain designation, so Wednesday’s open house was the perfect opportunity.

Those who want to dispute whether their homes should be in a flood plain could give their information to FEMA and DNR workers who will see if changes are warranted. After a 90-day appeal period, which started Wednesday, FEMA will make its decision on each property and give homeowners 30 days for last-minute questions or information, said Dave Knipe of the DNR Division of Water.

Finally, cities, towns and counties involved in the National Flood Insurance Program have six months to adopt the maps.

Each county usually has about 30-40 homeowners who dispute their designation, said Knipe, who has been to about 12 Indiana counties since FEMA’s map modernization started.

In 2003, Congress passed a five-year plan to update flood maps, most of which were 30 years old, for the whole country. About 70 homeowners had visited Madison County’s open house in the first hour on Wednesday.

Anderson resident Rita Dietz, who lives two blocks from White River, also is in the flood plain. She said she didn’t mind paying for flood insurance, even though her home has never flooded, but she was upset that it was not offered in monthly payments, she said.

“If you can’t make monthly payments, I can’t afford to pay $300-400 at once,” Dietz said.

She hoped her visit to the open house would help her find other options to pay her flood insurance. At one end of open house, representatives from the National Flood Insurance Program explained flood insurance options and misconceptions to visitors.

“If a community participates (in the program), anyone in the community is eligible to purchase flood insurance,” said Michael Klitzke of FEMA. “There are very few in Indiana that participate.”

The price of flood insurance is based on risk, and homeowners can buy insurance for the structure of their home, which is required, and insurance for the contents inside. Homeowners can buy insurance from FEMA or through private companies. They can go online to floodsmart.gov to check for agents in their area, Klitzke said.

Flooding is the No. 1 disaster in the nation, said John Kinley of Anderson Emergency Management.

“We have minor to moderate flooding every year (in Madison County),” he said.

Kinley said he didn’t know how Madison County ranked in flooding among other Indiana counties, but said the county was usually in the top three in number of disaster declarations, 90 percent of which have had flooding as a contributing factor.

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Miss the open house? Flood maps are online at floodmaps.in.gov.

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Madison County communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program: Madison County, Anderson, Alexandria, Elwood, Frankton, Pendleton, Summitville