Message from Jim

A tropical cyclone is a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has a closed low-level circulation. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 and includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season starts a few weeks earlier on May 15, also ends November 30, and extends to 140 Degrees West Longitude.

Included in the tropical cyclone family are a Tropical Depression with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph, a Tropical Storm with sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph, a Hurricane with sustained winds of 74 mph or higher, and Major Hurricanes with sustained winds of 111 mph or higher, corresponding to a Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. In the western North Pacific, hurricanes are called typhoons, and similar storms in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean are called cyclones (NOAA, 2018). All these storm types have caused flood damage.

Fortunately, with the winter season behind us, we can now simply enjoy spring and not worry about a tropical storm for the next few months, right? Well, not really, not ever! Off-season hurricanes can occur, but even if they don’t this year, the proactive person will recognize how past reform and recent April 1, 2018 program changes can be applied to a specific site to allow a homeowner to make informed decisions on risk assessment, insurance, and real estate value.

Mitigation strategies, continuous coverage, grandfathering, fill, flood vent openings, determining a structure’s lowest grade, or simply staying out of the Special Flood Hazard Area are several concepts of many which should be evaluated to reduce the impact of increasing premiums or actual flood risk. Like it or not, climate change and the removal of Pre-FIRM subsidies are going to continue in our lives moving forward. This is a true “elephant in the room”. This is a different type of storm causing a different kind of damage, and the best shelter is making improved personal choices. Hard choices no doubt, but without personal accountability as a major influencing factor, the program will always have its naysayers.

Enhanced maps will improve the identification of perceived flood hazard areas, having a 1% (1 in 100) annual chance of occurring, for insurance rating purposes, but actual risk can be so different. For example, Houston has encountered more than three 0.2% (1 in 500) annual chance floods in the last three years (Ingraham, 2017). Maps will continue to depict representations of the 1% annual chance flood, but they will never depict Special Flood Hazard Areas for these larger storms.

Last month, Roy Wright, who oversees FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program, said Floridians should look at their driver’s licenses, rather than bother with flood zone maps. “If it says Florida, you need flood insurance" (Schlanger, 2018). At first read, this statement is humorous, but it is quite on the mark. Flood map lines, regardless of how accurate they are, do not define the extent of a storm's reach; they mainly exist for insurance premium rating for federally-backed or insured loans, or for community regulation. They are called “Flood Insurance Rate Maps” for a reason. Using them for planning purposes is appropriate to an extent, but everyone must understand that map lines do not define actual risk. In the perfect world, each storm would stop at the depicted flood zone line, but we do not live in a perfect world. Understanding this difference is a personal choice.

Speaking Engagements

Maine Coastal Erosion Control Workshop - April 25, 2018

Jim will be speaking about flood maps and flood insurance at the Maine Coastal Erosion Control Workshop, hosted by E.J. Prescott on April 25, 2018 at the Brunswick Inn & Tavern in Brunswick, Maine.

The event is co-sponsored by Maine Sea Grant and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and will explore coastal erosion control problems and solutions, but will also look ahead at the implications of sea level rise and its potential impacts on coastal communities. Continental breakfast, lunch and all conference materials are included in the $35 fee, and all participants will receive certificates for 5.5 Professional Development Hours.

Click here to learn more and register!

A word from ASFPM's Executive Director on positive aspects of the Omnibus budget

By: Chad Berginnis, Association of State Floodplain Managers, March 22, 2018

"Congress released the text of the FY18 Omnibus late March 21 and I am thrilled to be able to report that the budget for pre-disaster mitigation and floodplain mapping are at their highest appropriated levels ever!"

Read more!