 | 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: Maine NFIP Corner: "The Maine Building Officials and Inspectors Association (MBOIA) 14th Annual Code Conference – May 22 & 23, 2023"
Real Estate Corner: "Why Do We Continue to Build in High-Risk Areas?"
In the News: "Gulf Coast Towns Lower Flood Insurance Rates, with NOAA’s Help", "The US Leads the World in Weather Catastrophes. Here’s Why", and "Take Action and Be Prepared: May 31st is National Dam Safety Awareness Day"
Resources: "NFIP Claims Handbook", "National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Technical Bulletin 10" and "Prior NFIP Claims History Rating Factor in Risk Rating 2.0"
Climate Corner: "Sea Levels are Rising — and It's Going to Get Worse. Here's How Some Communities are Adapting"
On this Day in History: "The Ellsworth, Maine Flood - May 3, 1923" Banner Image: Major erosion of a road has occurred in a subdivision in the foothills of Kaysville, Utah, due to snowpack runoff on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
Image from: "Water Worries: Utah Cities React to Flooding; 20 Kaysville Homes Evacuated After Road Damage" | Real Estate Corner Why Do We Continue to Build in High-Risk Areas? By: Larry Larson, Association of State Floodplain Managers
March 28, 2023 More Americans are moving into harm’s way. According to analysis from real estate brokerage firm Redfin, the U.S. counties with the largest share of homes facing high heat, drought, fire, flood, and storm risk all saw their populations grow from 2016-2020. What is causing this population surge in high-risk areas? Why is it happening and what will be the result? Will the increase in at-risk development and the resultant increase in flood insurance premiums impede the NFIP reform we so desperately need? Click here to read the full article. | Gulf Coast Towns Lower Flood Insurance Rates, with NOAA’s Help NOAA Office for Coastal Management, April 10, 2023 For coastal communities on the front lines of climate change, cost-effective flood insurance offers a lifeline—but reaching that lifeline is difficult for many towns lacking the know-how on how to qualify. Dozens of Gulf Coast communities are much closer to this goal, because NOAA’s Digital Coast and National Coastal Zone Management Program assist their participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System. Click here to read the full article. |  "People walk through damage from a late-night tornado in Sullivan, Indiana." (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler) | The US Leads the World in Weather Catastrophes. Here’s Why By: Seth Borenstein, AP News, April 2, 2023 The United States is Earth’s punching bag for nasty weather. Blame geography for the U.S. getting hit by stronger, costlier, more varied and frequent extreme weather than anywhere on the planet, several experts said. Two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, jutting peninsulas like Florida, clashing storm fronts and the jet stream combine to naturally brew the nastiest of weather. That’s only part of it. Nature dealt the United States a bad hand, but people have made it much worse by what, where and how we build, several experts told The Associated Press. Click here to read the full article. | Take Action and Be Prepared: May 31st is National Dam Safety Awareness Day On May 31st, the dam safety community acknowledges National Dam Safety Awareness Day and asks policymakers, lawmakers, and citizens to remember that dam safety is a shared responsibility and to recognize that the risks associated with dams can affect everyone. Click here to learn more! | NFIP Claims Handbook This 20-page handbook details what homeowners, renters and business owners can do to prepare for and recover from a flood event. It guides policyholders through each step of the process and covers filing a claim. (FEMA 2022) Refer to your policy for specific information on coverage, limitations, restrictions and deductibles. Click here to download a PDF of the handbook. | National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Technical Bulletin 10 The most recent update to the NFIP's Technical Bulletins has been released: "Reasonably Safe from Flooding Requirement for Building on Filled Land Removed From the Special Flood Hazard Area in Accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program (TB 10)" This Technical Bulletin provides guidance on the NFIP's requirements related to determining that buildings constructed on fill will be reasonably safe from flooding during the occurrence of the base flood. Guidance is provided for the placement of fill and the parameters for the design and construction of buildings on filled land that has been removed from the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) through the flood map revision process managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Click here to download a PDF of March 2023 Technical Bulletin. | Prior NFIP Claims History Rating Factor in Risk Rating 2.0 ASFPM News Editor, March 16, 2023 Like in other lines of insurance (e.g., auto, homeowners), NFIP flood insurance rates are affected by past claims. In the case of FEMA’s new rating methodology (known as Risk Rating 2.0), FEMA changed how that rating factor is applied starting April 1, 2023. Basically, the factor will now be based on future claims that occur within a 10-year rolling window after April 1, 2023. And, it is applied when there are two or more claims within that 10-year rolling window. Click here to learn more and download the official FEMA Bulletin that outlines these changes. | Climate Corner Sea Levels are Rising — and It's Going to Get Worse. Here's How Some Communities are Adapting By: David Schechter, Haley Rush, and Chance Horner, CBS News, March 28, 2023 Thirty percent of Americans live in a community near a coastline. And while those people don't have the power to unilaterally solve the underlying problem of climate change, some communities are now grappling with how to adapt to sea level rise by constructing new defenses, restoring natural defenses, or just moving out of the way. Click here to learn more. |  1923 flood The Ellsworth Steam Laundry (right) buckles under the river’s force during the 1923 flood, which caused millions in damage in today’s dollars. Image from Portland Press Herald Glass Negative Collection | On this Day in History The Ellsworth, Maine Flood - May 3, 1923 Today marks the 100th anniversary of one of Ellsworth, Maine's greatest disasters. The 1923 freshet (or flood) on the Union River was reported to have caused $400,000 in damage — a conservative estimate that would be about $7.14 million in today’s dollars. Fortunately, no one was killed, but the freshet reshaped the city’s working waterfront and changed residents’ relationship with the river. Click here to read "When the River Broke Free" by late historian Darlene Springer. |  Image by Bob Englehart | | | |
