Flood Warning Resources
Finding Flood Risks in Your Area
It has become more evident that flooding is possible anywhere in the world. Just like we have warnings for hurricane’s and large storms flood warnings are starting to become a common part of our daily lives. As a leading flood insurance agency, we use several resources, tools and applications to help our clients understand their personal flood risk so to better protect themselves and their personal property, homes and businesses.
Here are just a few of our favorite flood warning resources to help you become aware and more educated of potential flood risks in your area.
Coastal Barrier Relief Resource System (CBRS)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for maintaining the official maps of the Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS). The CBRS sets the funding and resources for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The CBRS also determines certain locations as unbuildable, or help determine which communities qualify for federal funding and assistance for habitational or other projects based on whether that community follows the CBRS guidelines. It’s all complicated, fluid government oversite. But sometimes you may find yourself in a unique location that requires unique insight. you’ll find that unique info9rmation here.
The link above is the tool to research CBRS locations. The following is straight from the website (I couldn’t say it any better)
A self-serve tool accessible through the CBRS Mapper that allows any user (e.g., surveyors, property owners, insurance agents, real estate agents, and federal agencies) to select a particular location and produce a document entitled “CBRS Mapper Documentation,” which indicates whether that location is within or outside of the CBRS. For locations within the CBRS, the documentation produced by the tool indicates the flood insurance prohibition date and the System Unit establishment date (where applicable). This documentation can be used to either obtain flood insurance through the NFIP for eligible structures or to otherwise document a location’s status within or outside of the CBRS for other purposes (e.g., real estate transactions or applications for federal financial assistance).
FEMA Flood Map Changes Viewer (ArcGIS Web App)
Probably the most important and effective tool to determine flood risk in your location. This flood map viewer application pulls data from multiple Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) government reporting data sites to create this powerful flood research tool. The flood mapping application can be a bit overwhelming as it offers a ton of layered data results, but once you figure what you need it remembers what you did last and keeps your results. Historical flood data will help provide an educated flood warning level of understanding. But as I said, it is very dynamic and can be slow so be patient! You simply input the location you want to find flood data on and the application will provide flood zones, elevations and several other flood related data. It’s all provided in layers and you can search for many other things in addition to flood zones and potential flood risks.
Letter of Map Amendment Search Tool (LOMA)
Known as LOMA’s, some property owners have successfully petitioned FEMA to amend a flood map removing their property from a special flood hazard zone. If you’re reading this blog article then you should already understand SFHA or special flood hazard zones. If not, we discuss them in another blog article on our site. If you want to look up current map amendments that could help your personal situation take a look at this site. It may not help you prepare for a future flood exposure, but it could help you avoid the cost of higher flood insurance costs!
FEMA Incident Journal
FEMA provides an open forum for the public to view and read current and historic reports regarding floods, flood warnings and future flood risk areas. This is part of the the ARCGIS data system, but is worth a look. The main screen provides a map of the United States with clickable thumb nails that take you to recent reports in certain parts of the country. If you see a thumbnail in your state you may want to read up on any new flood research reports FEMA has released.
Final Words on Flood Warning Resources
These are the best tools we use every week to help our clients prepare for the potential of a flood occurrence. With a little education and the right flood insurance policy you can be as prepared as you can for the future. If you are looking for some assistance and help protecting your family, home or business from flood damage give us a call or click the quote button below. We are flood experts and have been writing flood insurance since the national flood insurance program was established.