FEMA Floodplain Management
Floodplain Management
Floodplain management is the operation of a community program of corrective and preventative measures for reducing flood damage. These measures take a variety of forms and generally include requirements for zoning, subdivision or building, and special-purpose floodplain ordinances.
A community’s agreement to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances, particularly with respect to new construction, is an important element in making flood insurance available to home and business owners. Currently over 20,500 communities voluntarily adopt and enforce local floodplain management ordinances that provide flood loss reduction building standards for new and existing development.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created as a result of the passage of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. Congress enacted the NFIP primarily because flood insurance was virtually unavailable from the private insurance markets following frequent widespread flooding along the Mississippi River in the early 1960s.
The NFIP is a Federal program, managed by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), and has three components: to provide flood insurance, to improve floodplain management and to develop maps of flood hazard zones. The NFIP allows property owners in participating communities to buy insurance to protect against flood losses. Participating communities are required to establish management regulations in order to reduce future flood damages. This insurance is intended to furnish as an insurance alternative to disaster assistance and reduces the rising costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by flood.
Crawford County’s Floodplain Management Ordinances
On August 16th, 2012 updated Floodplain Management Ordinances were adopted by all 51 municipalities in Crawford County. The updated ordinances also included revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). Listed below are the current Floodplain Management Ordinances for each municipality and the associated FIRMs.
Floodplain Management Resources
The Crawford Conservation District and the County Planning Office through funding provided by the Greenways Block Grant have developed additional Floodplain Mapping. This set of maps incorporates the County’s property parcel information over an aerial image with the FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas and the 50’ Additional Floodway areas. This set of maps is intended to assist municipalities and their residents in determining if a new proposed project is located within a Floodplain Area at the time a building or assessment permit is obtained from the municipality. Listed below are the Floodway Area Maps by Municipality. Please note some municipalities may have more than one map due parcel density.
