Now, the retiree is facing a financial calamity: paying far more for flood insurance because of newly revised federal maps that have made his rebuilt home part of a high-risk flood zone.
Benitez, whose home was among 130 in DeBary flooded during Fay, used to carry a minimal flood-insurance policy. But with the new designation, his rates will climb sharply.
"Paying another $2,000, $3,000, up to $6,900 a year would just devastate us," Benitez said, quoting estimates he has received.
He's not the only one facing sticker shock. Thousands of property owners in Volusia, Osceola and Lake counties, including many whose homes didn't flood during storms of recent years, will have to pay more for flood insurance or will be required to buy it for the first time because their properties are being redefined as flood-prone.
Most homeowners policies don't cover flooding. Flood insurance is a separate policy, and mortgage companies typically require borrowers to carry it if their home is in a flood zone.
As a result of the new maps, 22,800 properties were added to the flood zone in Volusia and 3,680 in Osceola. Lake officials couldn't say yet how many properties will be added there. Orange County completed its remapping in 2009, and Seminole did the same in 2008, with thousands of additional residents required to buy flood insurance.
Some property owners may benefit from the latest changes. About 9,400 properties in Volusia and 4,400 properties in Osceola were taken out of flood zones, according to the preliminary maps. That means buying flood insurance will become optional.
The maps for Volusia, Osceola and Lake are scheduled to become final next year, giving property owners time to appeal the "flood-prone" designation by providing evidence to their counties and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Appealing typically requires a land survey that can cost several hundred dollars. A deadline for Volusia and Osceola property owners to file an appeal hasn't been set yet, but Lake property owners must act by Dec. 12.
The new flood-zone designations are the result of a $1 billion project that FEMA started about six years ago: redrawing outdated flood maps throughout the country using laser-imaging radar and other high-tech methods. Many of Central Florida's flood maps had not been updated since at least the late 1990s. The new maps account for changes in topography, improvements in drainage and the impact that development has had on the flow of water.
Lake County resident Raymond Garratt, whose home is tucked between Lake Beauclair and Lake Dora near Mount Dora, learned that the new maps no longer place his house in a flood zone. Even so, he plans to continue paying about $400 a year for flood insurance.
"That's great news," Garratt said. "But I would still buy it. ? We've got a lake, a canal nearby and wetlands on the other side of the street. It's a small price to pay for relief and peace of mind." Federal emergency officials encourage all homeowners to buy flood insurance, even if their property is not in a flood zone.
It's likely that Garratt's home, along with his neighbors' houses, were removed from the zone because of better analysis of the terrain and that they sit high enough to avoid flooding, county officials said.
In Volusia, the new maps are based in part on the county's experience in Tropical Storm Fay, which caused major damage in the DeBary area. And for the Daytona Beach region, federal officials redrew the maps using the high-water mark from a May 2009 storm that dumped more than 20 inches of rain in a few days and flooded nearly 1,900 properties.
Property owners can buy flood policies from their insurance company or from the National Flood Insurance Program. Annual premiums vary widely, from a few hundred dollars to thousands, depending on the risk level assigned by the maps. As of July 31, Florida had more than 2 million policies under the program, insuring nearly $469.6 billion worth of property.
But several property owners are questioning the need for the insurance as well as the rates.
Hawks Landing at Pelican Bay, a 117-unit condominium complex in Daytona Beach, will appeal the new flood-zone designation, condo association Treasurer Andreas Johns said.
"We went through all the hurricanes in 2004 and the 26 inches of rain in Daytona in 2009, and our community was fine," Johns said. "If that torrential downpour wasn't enough to put us underwater, we don't think we qualify as flood zone."
Estimates for the flood policy start at $65,000 a year for Hawks Landing and could go higher.
"The cost is ridiculously high, and we were pretty disturbed about having to pay for some government piece of paper that won't ever get used," he said.
Affected homeowners can buy flood insurance at the rate available for low-risk homes if they apply for a "grandfather clause" through the National Flood Insurance Program. That gives them a two-year grace period before they have to pay the higher rate associated with flood-prone properties.
For Benitez and others, that allows time to consider their options. Some residents say they plan to sell, unable to cope with the higher cost. Others are biding their time.
"I don't know what I'll do," said Darlene Vermillion of DeBary, one of Benitez's neighbors. "I don't want to move, but if I can't afford the insurance, that's what I'll have to do."
llelis@tribune.com or mcomas@tribune.com. Staff writer Jeannette Rivera-Lyles contributed to this report.
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