Local Government Officials - Floodplain Management Resources

Local community officials play a critical role in making their communities safer and more resistant to disaster. Identifying their community’s flood hazards and then acting to reduce those risks along with managing to a higher standard will result in a stronger, more resilient community.

Post-Disaster: Jump to resources focused on disaster response.

Become a Participating Community

Join the National Flood Insurance Program.

Joining the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is an important step toward reducing a community’s risk of flooding and making a speedier, more sustained recovery should flooding occur. It also allows property owners within a participating community to purchase NFIP flood insurance and receive disaster assistance for flood-related damage. Participation is voluntary and more than 22,000 communities have agreed to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances that provide flood-loss reduction building standards for new and existing development.

See the Community Status Book for a list of all participating communities. If your community does not participate, please read Joining the National Flood Insurance Program and consider contacting your FEMA Regional Office or the NFIP State Coordinating Agency for information on how to join. These offices will provide an application, a sample resolution and a model floodplain management ordinance.

Adopt Higher Standards

Participating counties, municipalities and tribal nations can become stronger and more resilient by risk reducing actions, such as the following best practices:

• Adopting and enforcing higher floodplain management standards than NFIP minimum requirements (e.g., higher freeboard, lower substantial damage ratios)
• Maintaining rigorous enforcement
• Promoting open space through property buyouts and community planning
• Encouraging responsible building practices (ASCE or IBC, for example, including IBC Appendix G)
• Promoting the purchase of flood insurance

Best practices for keeping your community safe include the adoption of higher standards, which can be adopted at any time. The flood map adoption process near the end of a new Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) study process is a good opportunity to improve those standards. By following these best practices and adopting higher standards than the federal minimum, a community can expect faster recovery from flooding events, lower impact to other properties and communities, and reduced financial and physical effects on property owners. In addition, flood insurance premiums for residents and business owners in high-risk areas can be reduced substantially if communities build higher and actively participate in the Community Rating System (CRS). Typically, two feet of freeboard will save a homeowner more than 40 percent off flood insurance through the NFIP.

Additional information about some of the more common applications of higher standards can be found at these links:

• Higher Floodplain Management Standards
• Critical Facilities and Higher Standards
• Use of Freeboard
• Regulating Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LiMWA or Coastal A) Zones

Community Rating System (CRS) Provides Additional Incentives

The Community Rating System was created to encourage communities to establish sound programs that recognize and encourage floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. By conducting mitigation and outreach activities that increase safety and resilience, including CRS credits for regulating to higher standards, communities can earn credits and discounts (up to 45 percent within the Special Flood Hazard Area) on flood insurance premiums for property owners.  Review the Mitigation Planning and the Community Rating System bulletin to learn how local governments can improve their local mitigation plans and leverage the insurance benefits of the CRS to advance mitigation outcomes.  For more information about CRS, read the local officials guide to CRS and the CRS Coordinator’s Manual.

Tools and Resources to Support Higher Standards

Local communities should work closely with their State, as well as FEMA and other federal agencies, as they can provide tools and resources to help support adoption of higher standards which, in turn, would result in them being more resilient. For example, FEMA’s Community Assistance Program-State Support Services Element (CAP-SSSE) is a grant program whereby states receive funding to provide technical assistance to local communities. The CAP-SSSE is intended to help states proactively identify, prevent and resolve floodplain management issues in participating communities before a flood event even occurs.

Mitigating to higher standards after a claim may also result in lower flood insurance premiums. Under Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action (RR 2.0), prior claims history will be used as a rating variable and applied when a RR 2.0-rated policy renews after filing the first claim. Applying Prior Claims History Reset describes how a policyholder can reset the structure’s prior claims history to zero based on specific mitigation criteria certified by the community.

Federal grants and other programs, such as FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants , may be available to communities to help pay for mitigation projects that reduce flooding impacts.

NFIP policyholders in high-risk areas who are substantially damaged may be eligible for up to $30,000 in Increased Cost of Compliance coverage .  When a community receives FEMA HMA grant funds for an awarded mitigation project, the policyholder may be able to assign the ICC claim for the community to use to payment as part of the non-Federal cost-share requirements. The ICC Guidance for State and Local Officials provides more details.

FEMA publishes the Floodplain Management Requirements Study Guide and Desk Reference for local officials who are responsible for administering their community's floodplain management regulations. The reference has guidance on handling specific issues and explains requirements to community members.

Additional  floodplain management resources are available for download. They can also be ordered by phone through the FEMA Publication Distribution Center at 1-800-480-2520. Publications may be requested by their FEMA number.

Floodplain managers are encouraged to take related training courses offered by the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM), their state chapters and other organizations.

We also have tools focused on post-disaster response for elected officials, community boards, floodplain administrators, emergency managers and building officials.

• Substantial Damage & Estimator Tool
• Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM)
• Increased Cost of Compliance
• Severe Repetitive Loss
• Denial of Flood Insurance Coverage, Section 1316

Disclosing flood risk during real estate transactions is a timely and effective way to raise awareness and drive risk-informed investments. During the homebuying process, prospective buyers look to a network of trusted sources to help them make decision. With this insight in mind, the Local Flood Risk Disclosure resource offers ideas and examples to help community officials and real estate professionals make flood risk information conveniently available and easy to understand before and during real estate transactions. Inside, you’ll find: 

• A list of local flood risk disclosure best practices that have been implemented in communities across the nation
• Spotlights on five communities with differing geographies, demographic characteristics, and flood hazard concerns – each of whom have implemented best practice public information programs and real estate disclosure practices related to flood risks
• Additional information on over 80 communities in 21 states with flood risk disclosure and public information practices recognized by the Community Rating System (CRS)

Use and Download Document

Please refer to the Floodplain Management Document Library below for the most important information for local Floodplain Administrators.