DETROIT – William Anderson and his wife Geraldine never imagined their retirement budget would have to include flood insurance. But the couple from Detroit's east side just shelled out $1,900.
"We have a mortgage on the property so we had to come up with it," said William Anderson.
They live in Victoria Park, six tenths of a mile from the Detroit River.
However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, has redrawn flood plain maps around the country. The Anderson's neighborhood, bordered by Jefferson, Alter, Conner and the river, is now in a flood plain.
It's not clear how many homes within that zone are now required to have flood insurance.
It's not going to flood. It would have to be like Louisiana, and it don't look like Louisiana here," said Geraldine Anderson.
FEMA did not return phone calls.
Several years ago, the federal government began re-mapping flood plains around the country. Factors like precipitation, topography, and the size of local watersheds were used to update computer models.
Detroit officials say the only way to escape the flood plain designation would have been to erect flood control structures costing tens of millions of dollars.
Detroit doesn't have the money.
But William Anderson points out that he and his wife are on a fixed income.
"Money is tight, and we're struggling to keep up as it is," he said.