Flood Insurance is Available Through the NFIP

Local Flood Plain Administrator is a Resource

Jun 21, 2009

Since flood insurance is not part of standard property insurance policies, many people are not aware that it is available. However, Congress has filled this gap.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from time to time advertises to remind people that flood insurance is available. Unfortunately, too many people never think about this when the buy property or when they take out or renew insurance.

Started by Federal Legislation

The National Food Insurance Act of 1968 made flood insurance available to properties in flood prone areas. The Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 expanded the earlier law, and added a provision that Federal flood relief benefits would only be available in communities that undertook certain steps to mitigate flood damage and to property owners who bought flood insurance under the program.

These acts, with amendments and associated regulations (40 CFR 59-70) over several decades, provide for the following main purposes:

The program, originally covering only areas with flood hazards from free flowing water, was expanded to include areas prone to mudslides and areas where erosion due to flooding could affect properties.

The NFIP Matures

When the program was in its infancy, flood plain boundaries were delineated by approximate methods. This included local records, recollection of nearby residents, and visual observation by experienced engineers. These were drawn on scaled maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (F.I.R.M.).

As time progressed, rigorous calculations replaced approximate methods. Currently, flood elevations and the spread of flood waters are determined by computer simulations combined with accurate ground surveys. All F.I.R.M.s are being modernized for the rigorous approach. Many have already been updated.

Modernized flood maps indicate areas that are prone to flooding upon which no development of any type can take place. Other areas that are flood prone are designated as open to development, but only based on rigorous analysis that shows limited increase in potential flood damage.

Local Community Responsibilities

Federal regulations make the local community the manager and enforcer of flood plain regulations. Any community that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) must enact ordinances that regulate flood plain development at least as strictly as the Federal acts and regulations. A city or county may enact more stringent regulations than the Federal ones, and many do.

Each local community must designate someone to be the local Flood Plain Administrator. In smaller cities and rural counties this is typically the mayor or administrator. In larger cities it will be a staff member, possibly an engineer, who receives training on how to correctly implement flood regulations and keep the community eligible for citizens to purchase flood insurance.

The local Flood Plain Administrator is responsible for: keeping current F.I.R.M.s in stock and making them available to citizens of the community; reviewing flood plain changes requested by developers or citizens before submittal to FEMA; and undertaking measures to mitigate existing damage in flood prone areas.

Flood maps are the backbone of the NFIP. In an area that is subject to urban growth, flood maps are updated fairly frequently. Sometimes the flood prone areas shrink because of flood control measures. Sometimes flood prone areas expand based on growth in the upstream drainage basins and the resulting increase in the quantity of water that must be conveyed.

Citizens and business owners whose properties are in flood prone areas, and developers in the community, should gain some familiarity with these flood plain regulations. The local Flood Plain Administrator is a good place to start. FEMA also has many pages on-line that provide information about flooding and flood insurance.

The copyright of the article Flood Insurance is Available Through the NFIP in Civil Engineering is owned by David Todd. Permission to republish Flood Insurance is Available Through the NFIP in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.