flood lines fall 2015 viii issue 3 - new hampshire · time i drove along route 123 and the stories...
TRANSCRIPT
10 Years Later: Remembering New Hampshire’s October 2005FloodDisaster.Areyoupreparedforthenextevent?
ByJenniferGilbert,NHFloodplainManagementCoordinator
Recentlyyoumayhaveseennewscoverageoftheten‐yearanniversaryofHurri‐caneKatrina,whichremindedusofthedevastationthatoccurredinNewOrleans
andothercommunitiesinthesurroundingareainAugust2005.Atthetime,formany NewHampshire residents, an event like Katrina seemed far‐fetched andunlikelyinourstate.Littledidweknowafewshortmonthslaterastormwouldarriveinthestatethatwouldproduceheavyandintenserainfalloverashortpe‐riod,bringingdevastationandhardshiptoourstate.ThesmalltownofAlsteadwasparticularlyhithardduringtheeventonOctober8and9,2005.IspentsometimeinAlsteadfollowingthedisasterworkingtoassisttownof icialsastheyquicklyputtogetherahazardmitigationplansotheycouldqualifyformuchneededFEMAmitigationgrantfunding.TheimagesIsaweachtimeIdrovealongRoute123andthestoriesIheardwereunimaginable.Ihave
continuedtospeakaboutthoseimagesandstorieswhentalkingwithcommunity
of icialsandthepublicabout loodingand loodplainmanagement.Theyserveasareminderofhow
a series of events
can foreverchange a commu‐
nity and its resi‐
dents.
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I n s i d e t h i s i s s u e :
MappingUpdate
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InsuranceUpdate
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NFIPUpdate 6
UpcomingTraining&Events
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Flood Lines V o l u m e V I I I I s s u e 3F a l l 2 0 1 5
NHOf iceofEnergy&Planning107PleasantStreetJohnsonHall,3rdFloorConcord,NH03301Phone:603‐271‐2155Fax:603‐271‐2615www.nh.gov/oep/planning/programs/fmp
PhotobyChrisNorthrop
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The 2005 lood event was the start of a series of
statewide lood events over the last decade. New
HampshirehasbeenluckierthanourfellowNewEng‐
landstates inrecentevents,suchasHurricanes Irene
andSandy.Morerecentlywewereluckytostayoutof
the path of Hurricane Joaquin. But what happens
whenourluckrunsout?Areweprepared?Havewe
learnedfrompast loodevents?
September was National Preparednessmonth, which
isa campaign to remindusof the importanceofpre‐paringforemergenciesandhowtodoso.Butpreparingis something we need to think about more frequentlythanonemonthayear.Itshouldbeanongoingeffortforcommunities, families,andbusinessessothatwecanallbebetterpreparedforthenextevent.Withourbusy lives it ishard tokeepupwith things inthepresentmuchlessthingsthatmayormaynothappen
inthefuture.Butjustdoingafewsimplethingscangoalongwayinpreparing.ReadyNH.govisagreatresource
thatgivestipsandguidanceonhowyoucanbetterpre‐pare,includingthefollowing:
Signup forEmergencyAlerts andDownload theNHAlertsApp to staynoti iedof emergency and severe
weather.
UsetheeasychecklisttocreateanEmergencyKit.LikethepeopleinAlstead,youmayneedtoleaveyourhomequickly.
Complete the one‐page Family Emergency Plan form to know beforehand how to contact family
membersandwheretomeetifseparated.Duringmanyemergencies,cellphoneandlandlinesser‐
vicesareunavailable. Driveandwalkonlyinareasthataredry.Themajorityof lood‐relateddeathsoccurwhendriving
orwalkingin loodwaters.
Talk to your insurance agent about lood insurance. Homeowners and rental insurancedoesnot
coverdamagesfroma lood. Evenifyoulivebeyondamapped loodplainarea,the loodwaters
maynotstopata lineonamap. Manyof thehomes inAlstead thatweredestroyedordamaged
werenotlocatedinamapped loodplain.
10 Years Later (con nued from page 1)
PhotobyChrisNorthrop
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CoastalNHFloodplainMappingProject
StraffordCountyThe new loodplainmaps for the four communities in theStrafford County project area (Durham, Madbury, Dover,andRollinsford)becameeffectiveonSeptember30,2015.Belowarelinkstoinformationtoassistwiththenewmaps.MapResources:
ViewtheStaffordCountyEffectiveMaps
ViewtheChangesSinceLastMapsthatshowsthediffer‐
encebetweenthe2005Mapsandthe2015EffectiveMaps
FloodInsuranceInformation: PoliciesForBuildingsNewlyMappedIntoAHigh‐Risk
AreaFactSheet MapChangesandFloodInsurance:WhatPropertyOwn‐
ersNeedToKnowFactSheet
GrandfatheringRule
RockinghamCountyThemapsforthecommunitiesintheRockinghamCountyprojectareaarestillcurrentlyonhold.Thepro‐posed effective date for themaps in theRockinghamCounty project area is unknown at this time. Staytunedforfurtherupdates.
Mapping Update
ForupdatesonthepleasevisitNHOEP’sCoastalNHFloodplainMappingProjectwebpage.
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Mapping Update MerrimackRiverBasinDiscoveryProject
TheFederalEmergencyManagementAgency(FEMA)hasstarted the initial steps in a RiskMapping, Assessment,andPlanning(RiskMAP)projectfortheMerrimackRiverBasinarea. Thisarea includesNewHampshirecommu‐nitiesandMassachusettscommunities,whichareshownonthemapbelow.RiskMAPisFEMA’scurrentmappingprogramthathelpscommunitiesidentify,assess,andreducetheir loodrisk.By combining quality engineering with updated loodhazard data, FEMA provides accurate and easy‐to‐useinformation to enhance local mitigation plans, improvecommunity outreach, and increase local awareness toloodhazards.The U.S. Geological Survey in partnership with FEMAheld threeDiscoveryMeetings for theMerrimackRiverBasinProjectinJuly2015.The Discovery process commences at the begin‐ningoftheRiskMAPprojectandassistsinidenti‐fyingthescopeofthewatershedstudy. TheDis‐coveryMeeting is part of the Discovery process,and the information exchanged between FEMAand communities within the Merrimack Water‐shed during Discovery improves understandingofthecommunitieswatershed loodhazardmap‐pingandmitigationplanning.DuringDiscovery,FEMA: Gathersinformationaboutlocal loodriskand
loodhazards. Reviewsmitigation plans to understand local
mitigation capabilities, hazard risk assess‐ments,andcurrentorfuturemitigationactivi‐ties.
ProjectContactInformation:ScottOlsonU.S.GeologicalSurveyPhone:603‐226‐7815Email:[email protected],Pembroke,NH03275
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Insurance Update Identi icationofBusinessProperties—EffectiveNovember1,2015FEMA is revising the non‐residential building occupancy category to identify“Business” properties in the existing rate structure. Currently, FEMA categorizesbuilding occupancies as (1) single‐family, (2) two‐to‐four family , (3) other‐residential,and(4)non‐residential. Historically,FEMAclassi iedbusinessproper‐tieswithothernon‐residentialpropertiessuchasthoseusedashousesofworshiporbynon‐pro itentities,communityrecreationbuildings,andgarages.The2012insurancereformact,requiredFEMAtophaseoutPre‐FIRM(FloodInsur‐anceRateMap)subsidizedratesforbusinessproperties.InordertophaseouttheratesFEMAmustsepa‐rateoutbusinesspropertiesfromothernon‐residentialpropertiestoimplementthepremiumincreasesre‐quiredbythe2012insurancereformact.FEMAwillbeginrevisingtheNon‐Residentialbuildingoccupancycategorytoidentify“Business”propertiesNovember1,2015.Forratingpurposes,abusinesspropertymeansabuildingwherealicensedcommercialenterpriseiscarriedouttogenerateincomeandcoverageisforoneofthefollowing:a) abuildingdesignedasanon‐habitationalbuilding;
b) amixed‐usebuildinginwhichthetotal loorareadevotedtocommercialusesexceeds25%ofthetotalloorareawithinthebuilding;or
c) abuildingdesignedforuseasof iceorretailspace,wholesalespace,hospitalityspace,orforsimilaruses.
Theidenti icationprocessforallrenewalsforNon‐ResidentialpolicieswillbeginonNovember1,2015.In‐surancecompanieswillneedtogatherthenecessaryinformationtoproperlyclassifythepolicypriortothepolicy’sexpirationdate. Allnewnon‐residentialpoliciesafterNovember1,2015mustalsobeaccuratelycategorizedasbusinessorothernon‐residential. Source:FEMA
FEMAElevationCerti icateandFloodproo ingCerti icateUpdate
TheFEMAElevationCerti icate(FEMAform086‐0‐33)andFloodproo ingCerti icate(FEMAform086‐0‐34) formsarecurrent‐lyunderreviewat the federalOf iceofManagementandBudget(OMB).OMBhas extended the expirationdate of these forms toOctober31,2015.Until the OMB review process is complete, the existing formsavailable on FEMA’s website should continue to be used. UponOMBapproval,FEMAwillupdatethewebsitetoincludethenewElevationCerti icateandFloodproo ingCerti icateforms.
Source:FEMA
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NFIP Update
ReducingLossesthroughHigherRegulatoryStandards:2013ColoradoFloodsCaseStudy‐PublicationNowAvailable
In September 2013, an unprecedented rainfall event oc‐curred along Colorado's Front Range of theRockyMoun‐tains, resulting in catastrophic looding that impacted 18Colorado countiesand132 jurisdictions. TheSeptember2013 loodsprovidedauniqueopportunitytoevaluatethelosses avoided through a non‐traditional approach.WhiletheCommunityRatingSystem(CRS)conceptsofadoptinghigher regulatory standards and loodplain managementprinciples are advocated as best practices, there is littledata to demonstrate the return on investment for theseregulatoryorpolicy actions.Thegoalof the studywas toquantifythesebene itsanddemonstratewhattypesofreg‐ulations and policies could have themost substantial im‐pactonreducingfuturedamages.This study evaluated scenarios including regulating free‐board,restrictingbuildingofresidencesandcritical facili‐tiesinregulatory loodplains,andcontrollingdevelopmentin erosion zones. In addition to regulations, the study in‐vestigatedhowtheadoptionofregulationsovertimeaffect‐edlosses,andhowCRSscoresaffectedNFIPclaimsandpol‐icies.The conclusive results of this study continue to demon‐strate that higher loodplain regulations result in bene itsre lected by a reduction in lood‐related losses. Further‐more, jurisdictions not implementing higher regulatorystandardsmayobservesubstantialincreasesinfuture loodlosses.Thisinformation,inadditiontotraditionalExecutiveSummary mitigation actions, can be used by loodplainmanagers and community of icials to support the case forimplementinghigherregulatorystandardsfor loodmitiga‐tionandprotection.To view or download a copy of the study, please go to:ReducingLossesthroughHigherRegulatoryStandards Source: FEMA
PhotosSource:NOAA
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Upcoming Training & Events NFIPTrainingWebinars
Numerous free, online NFIP‐related trainings are available through FEMA’s contractor, STARR. Many of thecoursesareeligibleforContinuingEducationCredits(CECs)forCerti iedFloodplainManagers(CFM).Belowaresomeof theupcomingwebinars. Be sure tocheck thewebsiteperiodicallyasnewwebinarsarealwaysbeingadded.Tolearnmoreaboutthesewebinarsandtoregister,pleasegototheNFIPTrainingwebsiteandclickthe“Upcoming”tab.WhenaskedduringregistrationwhatFEMARegionyouarein,pleasereply1.
CRSWebinarSeries:
PreparinganAnnualRecerti ication‐November17‐1:00‐2:00PM
IntroductiontoCRS‐October20;December15‐1:00‐2:00PM
DrainageSystemMaintenance(Activity540)‐October21,2015‐1:00‐2:00PM
FloodplainManagementPlanning(Activity510)‐November18,2015‐1:00‐2:00PM
DevelopingOutreachProjects(Activity330)‐December16,2015‐1:00‐2:00PM
GroundTruths forFloodplainProfessionals&CommunityOf icials featuringnewFloodInsuranceVideos
HowtheNFIPWorksforFloodplainProfessionals Answersbasic loodinsurancequestionstogiveyouaheadstartinunderstandingtheNFIP—Whocanbuy lood
insurance?Whoisinthe loodzone?Whoisrequiredtobuy loodinsurance?
TheRoleoftheElevationCerti icateinFloodplainManagementElevationCerti icatesareoneof themost importantandversatileNFIPtoolsavailablewhen itcomesto lood‐plainand loodriskmanagement.The loodplainadministratorusestheECwhenadvisingbuilders,developers,
andpropertyownerswantingtobuildinacommunity'smost loodproneareas.Buildingstructuresatorabove
thebase loodelevationwill reduce loodriskand lood insurancepremiums foryourconstituents.Thisvideoincludesguidanceforlocatingthebase loodelevationandthelowest loorelevation.
Formoreinformationgotohttp://www. lood‐ed.com/
JenniferGilbert,CFM,ANFI KellieWalsh,CFMStateCoordinator [email protected] [email protected]
NewHampshireOf iceofEnergy&Planning
107PleasantStreet,JohnsonHall,3rdFloor,Concord,NH03301
(603)271‐2155Phone(603)271‐2615Fax
https://www.nh.gov/oep
NHFloodplainManagementProgramContactInformation