For many Californians, flood insurance is something they associate with coastal homes, mountain runoff, or rivers that overflow during heavy storms. But for some South Los Angeles homeowners, the cost of flood protection has arrived — even though the water never has.
In a recent KCAL 9 News investigation, residents of a quiet South LA neighborhood learned they were required to carry flood insurance policies costing hundreds of dollars a year, despite having no history — or visible risk — of flooding.
At the center of the issue is FEMA’s flood map system, a decades-old federal tool that determines whether a property falls into a designated flood zone. That designation can automatically trigger a lender-mandated insurance requirement, even when homeowners and local officials question whether the risk actually exists.
A Flood Zone That Doesn’t Match Reality
For homeowner Leslie Goodwin, the news was shocking.
She lives far from the ocean, mountains, and flood control channels, yet her home sits inside a tiny blue square on FEMA’s flood map — a “Special Flood Hazard Area.” This designation means FEMA assigns the area a 1% annual chance of flooding, enough to trigger mandatory flood insurance under federal lending rules.
Goodwin’s cluster of homes — only a handful of properties — is marked high risk, while the surrounding neighborhood is classified as lower risk with only a 0.2% annual chance of flooding. To residents, the classification feels arbitrary and disconnected from real-world conditions.
Searching for Answers and Finding None
Goodwin sought explanations from multiple agencies. She contacted FEMA, the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, and her insurance agent, veteran broker Karl Susman.
Despite repeated inquiries, no agency could clearly identify why this specific group of homes was placed into a high-risk flood zone. FEMA eventually attributed the designation to “topographical depressions,” suggesting the area sits slightly lower than its surroundings and could theoretically collect runoff during extreme storms.
Longtime residents, however, say they have never seen floodwaters reach their properties — even during intense El Niño years.
The Financial Cost of a Mapping Technicality
Despite no flood history, affected homeowners are now paying hundreds of dollars every year for required coverage. Goodwin’s premium has climbed to nearly $1,000 annually. Her neighbor Danny Davis pays about $700 per year.
They cannot drop the coverage because their mortgage lenders require it. Once a property is designated inside a FEMA high-risk flood zone, lenders are legally obligated to enforce flood insurance as a condition of the loan.
Until that blue square is removed from FEMA’s records, the requirement remains in force.
Why FEMA Flood Maps Can Be Wrong
FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps were created decades ago to identify flood-prone areas nationwide. Many of these maps rely on outdated elevation data, engineering assumptions, and hydrological models.
According to a 2022 Government Accountability Office report, nearly 60% of FEMA flood maps nationwide are outdated, with some based on topographical data from the 1970s and 1980s.
In dense urban areas like Los Angeles — where drainage systems, elevation grading, and infrastructure have changed significantly — even small contour errors can place entire blocks into high-risk zones. Once the designation appears on a map, lenders must enforce insurance regardless of actual flood history.
How Homeowners Can Challenge a Flood Zone Designation
Homeowners who believe their property has been incorrectly mapped are not completely without options, but the process requires time, money, and documentation.
Property owners can apply for:
- A Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA)
- Or a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR)
These FEMA processes use certified elevation surveys to prove that a property sits above the base flood elevation and does not face the modeled flood risk. If FEMA approves the request, the property can be officially removed from the high-risk flood zone, releasing the homeowner from the mandatory insurance requirement.
The process often costs several hundred dollars for a professional survey and can take months to complete.
The Larger Policy Problem with Flood Mapping
This South Los Angeles situation reflects a broader national problem. FEMA faces intense pressure to update flood maps as climate change reshapes rainfall, sea levels, and storm behavior. Yet the agency depends heavily on funding and local government data submissions that are inconsistent in quality and frequency.
As a result, some areas are under-mapped for true flood risk, while others — like this South LA neighborhood — may be over-mapped. The system can both underestimate danger in coastal zones and overburden inland communities with unnecessary insurance costs.
Ways to Reduce Costs If You Are “Mapped In”
Even if homeowners cannot immediately remove their property from a flood zone, there are ways to lower premiums while remaining compliant with lender requirements.
One option is a dwelling-only flood policy, which covers the structure but excludes personal contents. This significantly reduces premiums while still satisfying most mortgage mandates.
Homeowners can also:
- Compare National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies with private flood insurers
- Ask lenders whether lower coverage limits are acceptable
- Work with licensed agents experienced in FEMA map challenges
A Local Case With National Implications
What is happening in this South LA neighborhood is not unique. Across the country, homeowners are finding themselves pulled into flood zones they do not recognize based on lived experience.
Whether maps underestimate coastal risk or overestimate inland danger, the growing gap between FEMA modeling and real-world conditions is leaving many homeowners financially exposed in ways they never expected.
Until flood maps are successfully challenged or formally updated, that small blue square on a federal database can continue to carry large financial consequences.
The Bottom Line
For South Los Angeles homeowners like Leslie Goodwin and Danny Davis, flood insurance is not about rising water — it is about rising costs driven by a computer-generated designation they cannot easily escape.
Their experience highlights a critical reality: in the insurance world, risk is not always defined by where water flows, but by where maps draw lines.
Until FEMA’s system better reflects modern infrastructure and real-world conditions, more homeowners may find themselves paying for protection against a peril that has never reached their doorstep.
