State Floodplain Management Program
The State Floodplain Management Program promotes and ensures sound land use development in floodplain areas in order to promote the health and safety of the public, minimize loss of life, and reduce economic losses caused by flood damages.
The State of Florida has over 18.5 million residents, and 80 percent of them live or conduct business along or near its coastline. A significant portion of the remaining residents live and conduct business near many of the State's historical rivers and other inland floodplains. These residents and business are concerned about protecting their lives and property from future flooding. This is evidenced by the fact that 97 percent of all Florida communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. As of December 31, 2010, there are over 2 million flood insurance policies in Florida which represents roughly 37 percent of total policies in effect nationwide. These policies equate to 1.2 billion dollars of insurance coverage.
About NFIP
The National Flood Insurance Program is a federally-subsidized flood damage insurance program managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In order for residents and business owners to be eligible to purchase this insurance, communities must exchange a promise to manage development in their special flood hazard areas according to minimum federal regulations. These areas are delineated by FEMA on Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
State Floodplain Management Office
In Florida, the State's Division of Emergency Management, Bureau of Mitigation houses the State Floodplain Management Office. Floodplain Management Specialists work with Florida's communities, assisting them in successfully managing development in their floodplains, as well as monitoring these efforts to assure compliance with the national program. The State Floodplain Management Office also coordinates and/or collaborates on the following activities statewide:
- Map Modernization and FEMA Risk MAP priorities
- Integration of flood-resistant standards into the statewide building code
- Coordination with federal flood mitigation grant programs
- Integration of floodplain management concepts and tasks into local mitigation strategies (one for each of the 67 Florida counties)
- Floodplain management and flooding issues pertaining to the State's Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan and planning process
- State agency management of state-owned facilities in special flood hazard areas
- Training of local floodplain management officials in partnership with Florida's Floodplain Management Association (FFMA)
- Local floodplain management challenges and opportunities
- Coordination with the Florida Dam Safety Program
- Partnerships with federal, state and local organizations pertinent to floodplain management
The implementation of pre-disaster mitigation incentives, such as the Community Rating System, the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, and the Repetitive Flood Claims Program, serve Florida's residents and businesses that continue to experience high growth and development. Florida local communities constitute the largest number of participants in the Community Rating System, which provides a comprehensive approach to flood mitigation. In fact, this high level of Community Rating System participation supports the implementation of the Flood Mitigation Assistance and Repetitive Claims Programs, which are targeted toward the reduction of repetitive flood loss structures, and requires a Flood Mitigation Plan often prepared by Community Rating System participating communities.
Resources
General
Community Rating System
Flood Insurance
- Summary of Coverage (F-679) PDF
- Managing Your Flood Insurance Claim (F-685) PDF
- Flood Insurance Claims Handbook (F-687) PDF
Model Ordinance
The following models are provided to assist your community in developing an ordinance that will comply with the criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the floodplain management related requirements of the State of Florida. Any community may adopt standards that are more restrictive than the NFIP participating standards. This model ordinance contains the Federal regulations governing community participation in the NFIP and local regulation of development in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA).
Contact
For further information on the State of Florida Floodplain Management Office and for the National Flood Insurance and Flood Mitigation Assistance Programs, please contact:
Joy Duperault, CFM, State Floodplain Management Coordinator
Steve Martin, CFM, Program Manager, State Floodplain Management Office
floods@em.myflorida.com
850-413-9960
Updated:
March 11, 2011 15:47
