 | Welcome to the Flood Zone is a nationally distributed resource for those interested in flood zone issues, land surveying, real estate, history, and educational opportunities. This newsletter has been proudly featured by the Association of State Floodplain Managers, the National Society of Professional Surveyors, and the Maine and New Hampshire Floodplain Management Programs. Please feel free to share with your friends and colleagues! If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, simply click the unsubscribe link in the footer of this message. | In this Issue of Welcome to the Flood Zone: Message from Jim
Maine NFIP Corner: A message from Sue Baker, the State NFIP Coordinator: "York & Cumberland County Flood Map Update"
In the News: "Rates to Rise for Millions of Homeowners Under National Flood Insurance Program"
Resources: "BRIC Pocket Guide" and "The Coming Storm: How U.S. Cities Are Managing Stormwater from Increasingly Extreme Rainfall Events"
Flood Insurance Corner: "FEMA’s Flood Insurance Advocate Explains When Flood Insurance is Required"
Climate Corner: "Louisiana’s Coastal Cultures are Threatened by the Very Plans Meant to Save Their Wetlands and Barrier Islands"
Real Estate Corner: "Here Are America’s 10 Safest States—for COVID-19, Climate Change, and More" Banner Image: Image from "Fallen Leaves Can Lead to Flooded Streets" by SPUMedia, October 12, 2021 | Message from Jim Last month, we briefly discussed the continued importance of Elevation Certificates for documenting regulation compliance and supporting Letter of Map Change applications, and also how their use in the insurance rating process has been greatly modified due to Risk Rating 2.0 (RR2.0): Equity in Action. More specifically, in comparing the former rating methodology called the Legacy Pricing Methodology (RR1.0), risk was measured only by the difference between the Lowest Floor Elevation and the Base Flood Elevation. The new methodology, which went into effect October 1st for all new policies, now uses the following three types of elevation variables to evaluate risk: 1. Elevation Relative to the Flooding Source - compares the building’s Lowest Adjacent Grade (LAG) elevation to the average water surface elevation of the nearest flooding source.
2. Local Relative Elevation - determines the pluvial flood risk to a building by comparing its LAG to the surrounding grade elevations within a defined area to see if it is higher or lower. (Pluvial flooding, also known as urban flooding or surface water flooding, occurs when surface waters exceed the drainage system in a particular area. It is usually caused by extreme rainfall, independent of an overflowing water body.)
3. First Floor Height – compares the lowest floor elevation above the structure’s LAG.
| 1. | Elevation Relative to the Flooding Source - compares the building’s Lowest Adjacent Grade (LAG) elevation to the average water surface elevation of the nearest flooding source. | | 2. | Local Relative Elevation - determines the pluvial flood risk to a building by comparing its LAG to the surrounding grade elevations within a defined area to see if it is higher or lower. (Pluvial flooding, also known as urban flooding or surface water flooding, occurs when surface waters exceed the drainage system in a particular area. It is usually caused by extreme rainfall, independent of an overflowing water body.) | | 3. | First Floor Height – compares the lowest floor elevation above the structure’s LAG. | Along with other RR2.0 rating variables, the three elevation variables clearly attempt to address actual flood risk in a more graduated way, though the binary “in or out” of the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) will remain the determining factor as to whether a homeowner is required to purchase mandatory flood insurance. Implementation of RR2.0 is intended to close the disparity in cost of premiums among contiguous homes, in general, and will gradually educate homeowners, communities, and stakeholders that the binary concept of flood risk is old and outdated. Modifying behavior based on a greater understanding of local flood hazards will continue to be the driver behind proactively addressing flood risk. | Maine NFIP Corner Sue Baker, CFM, State NFIP Coordinator York & Cumberland County Flood Map Update On October 18, 2020, the independent Scientific Resolution Panel (SRP) ruled on the appeals that were submitted by South Portland and Old Orchard Beach. The decisions of the SRP must now be incorporated into the maps. Revised preliminary maps for these specific areas are slated to be published this Fall. The revised panels only will have to go through the statutory process of publication in the Federal Register and two local newspapers. Upon the second local publication, the 90 day appeals period will commence. Because the timeframe is too short to accomplish these steps, FEMA will be unable to issue a Letter of Final Determination (LFD) by January 2022. Several other communities in both counties submitted appeals. The resolution of those appeals will be done through the Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) process. It is anticipated that the LOMRs will go effective as soon as possible after the final map date. Once the LFD is set, communities will have to update their floodplain management ordinance prior to the map effective date. Thirty-eight out of fifty-seven communities in the combined counties have a town meeting form of government and most town meetings take place between March and June. The state requests that the LFD be issued no later than January, so that communities won’t have the added expense of holding a special town meeting. In all likelihood, it will be January 2023 when the LFD is issued, which means the maps would become effective in July 2023. | In the News Rates to Rise for Millions of Homeowners Under National Flood Insurance Program By: Leslie Kaufman and Polly Mosendz, Insurance Journal, October 4, 2021 FEMA is facing an urgent but unpopular task. The program was created in 1968, when there were fewer major storms and fewer people living by the sea. But the U.S. coastal population grew by over 15.3 percent between 2000 and 2017, to over 94 million. Moreover, many inland places that have seen huge surges in flooding lack accurate maps. A 2017 report from the Department of Homeland Security inspector general found that 58% of FEMA flood maps were wrong or outdated. David Maurstad, the program’s senior executive and architect of the overhaul, said that nearly 90% of members would see premiums fall or rise only slightly, rather than the blanket increases of past years. “The new rating methodology is correcting longstanding inequities,” he said Thursday. “We can no longer continue to ignore the fact that some of our policyholders had been unjustly subsidizing other policyholders. They should no longer bear the cost for the policyholders with higher-value homes, who’ve been paying less than they should.” Click here to read the full article. | The Coming Storm: How U.S. Cities Are Managing Stormwater from Increasingly Extreme Rainfall Events By: Noelwah R. Netusil and Carolyn Kousky, Wharton Risk Center, August 2021. A recent Issue Brief from the Wharton Risk Center analyzes the need for infrastructure investment and bridging regulatory gaps to improve the way cities manage pluvial flooding as a result of stormwater runoff. "Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events in many U.S. cities, driving up the risk of localized stormwater flooding." Click here to download a PDF of the Issue Brief. | FEMA’s Flood Insurance Advocate Explains When Flood Insurance is Required FEMA’s Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate (OFIA) created a video to help the public better understand when the purchase of flood insurance is required by law versus when it is recommended. Click here to watch the video on YouTube. | Climate Corner Louisiana’s Coastal Cultures are Threatened by the Very Plans Meant to Save Their Wetlands and Barrier Islands By: Craig E. Colten, The Conversation, September 20, 2021 Waves of disaster have earned Louisiana a reputation as the place to watch for how climate change will impact coastal areas. Hurricane Ida was merely a punctuation mark in a series of devastating tropical cyclones, tragic inland floods, epic oil spills and deadly epidemics. As the state tries to cope with repeat catastrophes, it is figuring out how to manage an ongoing crisis – the slow-motion loss of these southern wetlands and barrier islands. They provide valuable natural storm protection. But the state’s solutions may end up harming the communities that live there and endangering the unique cultures that define the Louisiana coast. Click here to read the full article. | Real Estate Corner Here Are America’s 10 Safest States—for COVID-19, Climate Change, and More By: Jennifer Kelly Geddes, Realtor.com, October 27, 2021 In its Safest States in America report for 2021, the personal finance site ranked all 50 states on 55 different metrics measuring safety. These variables ranged from crime to health (including COVID-19 vaccination and death rates), finances (such as poverty and unemployment) to levels of bullying in schools. It even threw in road dangers (e.g., DUIs and vehicle fatalities per capita) and, last but not least, extreme weather (including the number of climate disasters and how prepared states are to aid its residents). Click here to view the top 10. Hey, locals! Maine came in at #2, and placed #1 in Emergency Readiness! | November Flood Funny That's one way to relocate a house! A Canadian couple in Newfoundland took the unusual step of pushing their two-story house into the Bay of Islands to move it about six-tenths of a mile to their new property on Oct. 11. Click here to read the article "Couple Uses Boats to Float Their Home to New Property" | | |
