\,)/1 N'J,oO.fS PI H5 4l~ A Publication of the Georgia Floodplain Management Office Department of Natural Resources National F1oodproofingConference The First NationalFloodproofing Conference was held February I~5,1999 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Conference began Monday by offering several optional workshops; That evening was the first chance for the Conference participants to view the Exhibits offered. There were many exhibitors displaying their disaster assistance products. The products ranged from tools to aid infilling sandbags to inflatable devices that could serve as flood water barriers. There were al.so exhibitors from different government agencies, such as FEMA, US Army Corps of Engineers (COE), and Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. Additionally, exhibitors included members of the private sector, which were either consultants and/or those with expertise in the field of flood .. proofing, such as the Association of State Floodplain Managers. The meetings generally opened with the group attending a joint meeting to learn about topics such as: the Baton Rouge perspective of f1oodproofing, generalfloodproofing techniques, examples of FEMA districts implementing f1oodproofing, exploration of possible funding available from the federal government to accomplish floodproofing, etc.The seminars then broke into separate sessions and offered the option of three different tracks to learn more information about floodproofing techniques. The first track was entitled Techniques. This track focused on the details involved in f1oodproofing.An especially interesting topic was software products that could be used in the presentation of f1oodproofing techniques to the general public. This information was provided by Rodney Greenup of the New Orleans COE.They were able to use computer graphics to superimpose a f100dwall or levee onto an existing picture of a park or house. This technique is invaluable in showing a homeowner or community official that the f1oodproofing techniques that need to be implemented are not going to adversely affect his/her community. The second track was entitled Programs. This track detailed different sources of support for expanding flood.. proofing initiatives. One session focused on the IncreasedCost of Compliance Coverage, which is used to help finance elevating structures for homeowners who have been substantially damaged in a disaster. Another session discussed using the extension agencies in each county to help with disaster education. Finally, the third track was entitled Local Initiatives. As indicated by the tide, officials.who had initiatedfloodproofing techniques in their communities moderat~ ed this track and detailed their successes and failures. One s!Jch session focused on coastal areas and the measures that were necessary to ensure the safety of their citizens. There was also a field trip for the Conference in which the participants were taken to see implemented f1oodproofing techniques.The trip was taken around the Baton Rouge area and Ollt towards Lake Ponchartrain in the Cityof Mandeville. The tour included seeing several examples of dry f1oodproofing, wet flood proofing, f1oodwalls, levees, and elevation. Some examples of the above techniquesare following. This was one of the best parts of the Conference.To be able to see some of the techniques discussed in the conference and at work in action was very exciting. .Georgia Floodplain Management Office HG VoJume4. Nuinber 2 Spring 1999 eeue ';'(Utt ~ 'P~ 1It~ tJUtu J'l44Ut1Iuiltentire- This picture shows the f1oodwallaround a house. The ly around the house in order to protect it from flood- Gate is electric and will completely seal the house away ing, There is a lake behind this house, which periodically if flooding starts.The property also has a sump pump floods and inundates the house.Theowner in this for residual water that falls inside the wall and localized instance wishes that they had aCtually elevated, because. ponding. Keep in mind that this protectivemethocl the levee blocks all the breeze from reaching the house. requires human intervention (Le., someone has to be at During Louisiana summers, a breeze' is very important home to close the gate). If the owner is ouf ohow!}, to keep things cool! the wall could fall because the gate might be open. . Continued on page 3 Two Workshops To Be Offered By The Georgia Floodplain Management Office The Georgia Floodplain Management Office. will be offering two workshops following the Governor'sSevere Weather Conference in May. Wednesday, May .12:A workshop' discussing recent changes to the Community Rating System (CRS) will be held from 2 - 4:30 p;m. at the Jekyll Island Convention Center. David VilnTroost,CRS Field Representative for .Georgia, will. be thefeatured speaker. Thursday, May 13: A workshop for local offi- cials will be conducted by the Georgia Floodplain Management Office from 9 a.m. - 3:15 p.rn.at the C93,stal Georgia Regional Development Ctr. in Brunswick This workshop will focus on the National Flood Insurance Program and issues related to local administration of floodplain management ordinantes. . . Anyone planning to attend either of these workshops should notify Collis Brown or Judy Brock at (404) 656-6382 as soon as possible. Georgia Floodplain Management Office H G Volume 4, Number2 Spring 1999 o The pictures above demonstrate the elevation of a house in progress. These pictures illustrate how federal money can help to elevate "slab on grade" foundations in order to protect the property and the owner. This was an exciting part of the tour. It was really interesting to go under a house and actually see how the house was being raised. The Conference ended with an optional tour on Friday to visit the. Old River Control Structure. This was a structure that was designed in the 1960's to control the flow of waterfrom the Mississippi River to the Atchafalaya River. It was almost destroyed in the flood of 1973. Since then, part of the structure has been redesigned and an auxiliary structure was added for extra protection. These changes are shown in the second picture, which shows a picture of what the Control Structure looks like today. Thanks to Laura Kennelly, GA DNR Environmental Engineer, for contributing this article. Laura provides technical assistance to the Georgia Floodplain Management Office on a part-time basis. Severe Weather Awareness Week 1999 Governor Roy E. Barnes proclaimed the week of February 21-27, 1999, as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Georgia. The goal of Severe Weather Awareness Week 1999 was to educate Georgians about safety, preparedness, and response procedures for a variety of severe weather events, such as floods, hurricanes, lightning, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and winter storms. In addition to publicizing weather safety measures and severe weather events through the local news media, a statewide tornado drill, initiated by the National Weather Service, was conducted on Wednesday, February 24. Schools, churches, businesses, industries, and local governments were encouraged to participate. Local and state emergency response organizations, including emergency management directors and staff, emergency medical personnel, law enforcement, rescue and fire personnel, were also encouraged to test emergency procedures during this week. Designated as Family Protection Day, Monday, February 22, was set aside as a day for families to discuss, plan, prepare, and rehearse emergency measures that would be utilized during the first 72 hours of a local disaster. For additional information about emergency preparedness measures during severe weather events, please visit the following web sites: Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) www.state;ga.us/GEMAI Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) www.fema.gov National Weather Service (NWS) www.srh.noaa.gov/FTPROOT/FFC/ H G __Ge_o_rgc-ia_F_'o_o,-dp_'a_in_ Management" Office Volume 4. Number 2 Spring, I ~99 Frequently. Asked Questions Regarding The Effect That Revised Flood Hazards Have on Existing Structures What factors determine flood insurance premiums? A number of factors determine premiums for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) flood insurance coverage. Majorfactors include the amount of coverage purchased; the ,deductible; and the location, age, occupancy, and type of building. For newer buildings in floodplains, the eleva.tionof the lowest floor relative to the elevation ofthe 1% annual chance flood (i.e.; base flood elevation) can also be used to rate the policy. My house is not in a floodplain according to the current map, butthe newmap will shQW it as being in a floodplain. WillI have to purchase flood insurance when the. new map o(ficiallytakes effect? If yotJ have Federal or federally related financing for the property in, question and you do not ' already have flood insurance, your lender may con~ tact you once the new map takes effect and require, that you purchase flood insurance.. If you do notpurchasethe insurance within 45 days after being informed that flood insurance is required,the' lender can force place the insurance and charge you for the cost of it. If you dispute the lender's determination that your property, is locatediri a floodplain, you and your lender can jointly request a Letter of Determination Review from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) within 45 days of being informed by your lender that your property is located in a floodplain. If you have insurance before the new maps take effect, the basis for rating that policy remains unchanged (i.e., you can use the rate that was' charged to you when your property was located outside the floodplain). to I have flood insurance, and my house is in a floodplain ' according the current map. The new map,however, will show my house as being outside the floodplain. Will.' .have to continue carrying flood insurance-when the. new mapo(ficially takes effect? If you have Federal or federally related financing for the property in question, you will no longer have a Federal requirement to purchase flood insurance when the new maps take effect; however, lenders retain the prerogative to require flood insurance, even for property ,that is not in a floodplain. If you wisb to continue coverage once the new maps take effect, you may be eligible for preferredrisk rates based on your property being outside the floodplain. You should have your policy re-rated using the new m~aps, which should lower your premium. Even if you are not required to purchase flood insurance,weencourage homeownersto continue coverage at the preferred risk rates, because you may be flooded by an event greater 'than the 1% annual chance event. My house was built to. the flood elevation shown on the current map (ora previous map)., ,On the new map, my house will remain in the flOOdplain, but the flood elevation will increase. Whatwill happen to myinsurance premium when the new map officially takes effect? If you can show that your house Was builtin compliance with local floodplain management regulations and the flood map in effect at the time of construction, the basis, for rating your policy does not change and your premium will be the same. If you cannot show that your house was builtin compliance at the time of construction, your policy will be re-nited using the new flood map, which may raise your premium;' However, if you' can show that your'home has been continuously insured since before the map change, your premium will not be affected. If you do not have Federal or federally related financing;you are not required by Federal regulations to have flood insurance, although it is, available to you. My house was built to the flood elevation shown '. on the current map (ora previous map). On the new map, my house will remain in the floodplain, but the flood elevation will decrease. What will happen to my insurancepremium when the new map officiallpakes effect? ,You should contact your insurance agent to ensure that the policy is re-rated when the new map officiallytakeseffect. The lower flood elevationmay result in a lower premium. Georgia Floodplain Management Office HG Volume 4. Number 2 Spring 1999 Frequently Aslied Questions Regarding The Effect That Revised Flood Hazards Have on Existing Structures Continued from page 4 My house was built in ZoneAE to the flood elevation in effect at the time of construction. On the new map; my house will remain in the floodplain, but the zone desig- nation will be changed to Zone VE. .What will happen to my insurance premium when the new map officially takes effect? . If you can show that your house was builtin compliance with local floodplain management regulations and the flood map in effect at the time of construction, the basis for rating your policy does not change and your premium will be the same when the new map officially takes effect. If you cannot show that your house was built in compliance at the time of construction, your policy will be re-rated when the new map takes effect using the new flood zone designation and flood elevations, which may raise your premium. However, if you can show thatyour home has been continuously insured since before the map change,your premium will not be affected. My house is shown as being in Zone VE on the current map. On the .new map, my house will remain in the floodplain, but the zone designation will be changed to Zone AE. What will happen to my insurance premium when the new map. officially takes effect? You should contact your insurance agent to ensl,lre that the policy is re-rated when the new map officially takes effect. The change to a Zone AE designation will likely lower your premium. My house is in a floodplain according to the current map. On the new map, my house will remain in the floodplain, but the flood elevation will be increased. Will my house be considered to be in violation ofNFIP regulations when the new map officially takes effect? Any house that can be shown to have been built in compliance with local floodplain management regulations and the flood map at the time of construction will continue to be considered compliant, even if the new map will show an increase in flood elevation or a change to a more restrictive zone designation. However, should your house be substantially dam'aged (damage is 50% or more of the pre-damage market value) and you wish to repair it, you will be required to bring the entire structure into compli~ ance with the zone designation and flood elevations in effect at the time the repairs take place. If the structure is less than substantially damaged, you do not need to refer to the flood map when repairing damages. Please note, however, that there maybe more stringent state or local requirements that take precedence over those stated here. Regardless of whether your building is substantially damaged, you will likely need a building permit to make repairs and need to contact your local building official. My house is in a floodplain. What do Ido if I want to build an addition or otherwise improve it? If the value. of the addition or improvement to the house is less than 50% of the market value of the existing structure, you need only make sure that the improvement meets or exceeds the standards that were used in constructing the existing structure (assuming the existing structure was built incompliance at the time it was constructed).. Additions or other improvements valued at 50% or more of the market value of the existing structure are considered substantial improvements. In such cases, the entire structure must be brought into compliance with the elevations on the map in effect at the time the improvement begins. Under certain circumstances only the addition needs to be elevated to the flood elevations shown on that map. Please note, however, that there may be more stringent state or local requirements that take precedence over those stated here. Regardless of whether your building is substantially improved, you will likely need a building permit to make the improvement and need to contact.your local building official. Taken from FEMA document MT-TS-HS 01106/99 How Can Georgia Floodplain Management OfflceAssistYour Community? Technical Data and Assistance .'. Floodplain Management Publications .. Flood Maps .. Guidance on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Regulations .. Floodplain Management Workshop ... Technical Workshop for Local Builders. Developers. Surveyors, Engineers &Appraisers .. Extra Copies of our Quarterly Newsletter - HIGH GROUND. . Contact either Collis Brown, State NFIP Coordinator or Judy Brock, Environmental Specialist at (404) 656-6382; fax (404) 656-6383 Georgia Floodplain Management Office HG Volume :4, Number 2 Spring 1999 o UPCOMING TRAINING COURSES Emergency Management Institute (EM!): The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), through its Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland, will be sponsoring the following resident courses. The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) serves as the national focal point for the development and delivery of emergency management training to enhance the capabilities of Federal, State, and Local government officials, volunteer organizations, and the private sector to minimize the impact of disasters on the American public. . There are no tuition fees for EMI on-campus courses. All instruction, books, and housing are provided at no cost, and FEMA reimburses air fare. Participants are responsible for the cost of the meals provided and for personal incidental expenses. All persons attending EMI courses are required to purchase a campus meal ticket for the period of their. course. For additional information on the following courses, or to obtain an application, please contact Georgia~s Floodplain Management Office at (404) 656-6382, You may also contact EMlat 1-800-238~ 3358. It is suggested that applications for courses be submitted at least two months prior to the date of the course. E234 Digit