The Community  Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive program within the NFIP that  recognizes and encourages communities to undertake floodplain management  activities that exceed minimum NFIP requirements.  Flood insurance premium rates are discounted  to reflect the reduced flood risk that results from community actions to: (1)  reduce flood losses, (2) facilitate accurate insurance rating, and (3) promote  the awareness of flood insurance.

For CRS  communities, flood insurance premium rates are discounted in increments of 5  percent.  For example, a Class 1  community would receive a 45-percent premium discount for properties located in  FEMA-designated SFHAs, while a Class 9 community would receive a 5-percent  discount.  The CRS classes for  communities are based on 18 creditable activities, organized under four  categories:  (i) Public Information, (ii)  Mapping and Regulations, (iii) Flood Damage Reduction, and (iv) Flood Preparedness.  More information about the Community Rating  system can be found at https://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program-community-rating-system.

FEMA’s Flood Map Modernization Program, also referred to as Map Mod, was a multi-year, multi-billion dollar effort to digitize and update Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).  The goal was to provide easily accessible, digital flood maps.  This program’s last year of funding was FY09.  Map Mod has transitioned into the Risk Mapping, Assessment and Planning Program, also referred to as Risk MAP.

An important element of Map Mod was Procedure Memorandum 34, reiterating FEMA’s continuing requirement that levees be appropriately certified and accredited if they are to be shown as providing protection on new FEMA Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs).

Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP) is a new FEMA program that provides communities with flood information and tools they can use to enhance their mitigation plans and better protect their citizens.  Through more accurate flood maps, risk assessment tools, and outreach support, Risk MAP builds on Map Modernization and strengthens local ability to make informed decisions about reducing risk.  Risk MAP’s ultimate goal is saving lives and dollars.

Through collaboration with state, local and tribal entities, Risk MAP focuses on products and services beyond the traditional DFIRM, which is primarily used to set flood insurance rates and communicate 1-percent-annual-chance flood risk.  FEMA will advise officials on how to effectively communicate risk to citizens and create corresponding mitigation plans that work.

A Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) is the FEMA mapping product to show where flooding occurs and where flood insurance is required.  DFIRMs are produced using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and include a supporting database.  The DIFRM database was the flagship product of FEMA’s Map Modernization Program and increased the usability of flood risk data.  It continues to be central to Risk MAP.

The DFIRM and supporting database has the following advantages:

• A map can be customized.
• An area of interest can be easily found and magnified.
• Areas and distances can be measured on screen.
• Other GIS data can be overlaid with the DFRIM database.

As of October 2009, FEMA stopped issuing paper FIRMS, except for one copy for each community, when new flood maps are issued.  Current effective maps and historic maps are available from the FEMA Map Service Center at http://msc.fema.gov. The online FEMA “Map Viewer” includes DFIRM data, including mapped flood hazard zones, and is available online at https://hazards.fema.gov/wps/portal/mapviewer.

The NFHL is a database repository that contains the digital flood hazard information collected for new flood map studies and Letters of Map Revision (LOMRs).  FEMA created the NFHL to provide stakeholders with an alternative method to access flood hazard information captured in DFIRMs and LOMRs.  The NFHL is an important component of FEMA’s Digital Vision – an initiative to reduce reliance on paper maps in favor of digital mapping data.  Distribution of DFIRM and LOMR data through the NFHL lowers distribution costs and reduces the need for static map images through FEMA’s MSC.  The NFHL data layer is made available to program stakeholders through:

• FEMA’s Map Viewer, which allows users to easily view NFHL data on a web page
• Available data layers for download for use with a GIS tool such as Google Earth, where it can be displayed as a layer and combined with other data sets; and
• Direct data distribution from FEMA’s Map Service Center on a state-by-state basis, which allows stakeholders such as insurance companies to integrate NFHL data with other geo-referenced data into a single database for complex queries and reports.

As FEMA moves forward with Risk MAP, new approaches for determining flood risks will be implemented.  As part of this effort, FEMA is using a watershed-based Coordinated Needs Management Strategy, or CNMS, to track the assessment process, document engineering gaps and their resolution, and prioritize flood map updates.  In order to provide the best maps possible, FEMA works with local stakeholders, including floodplain administrators, to ensure all information on the flood maps is up-to-date and accurate.  Local floodplain administrators play a key role in this process.

Communities requesting map updates should contact their FEMA Regional Office.  FEMA will determine the priority for identifying new study areas and updating areas already studied based on need, risk, available topographic data, and the community’s contribution to the flood study.

There are different ways that a FIRM can be physically revised:

• A community may apply for a Letter of Map Revision, or LOMR, to show changes to floodplains, floodways, or flood elevations.  LOMRs are generally based on the implementation of physical measures (such as construction of bridges, culverts, channels, etc.) that can affect the hydrologic or hydraulic characteristics of a flooding source and result in the modification of the existing regulatory floodway, the effective Base Flood Elevation (BFE), or the SFHA.  The community must supply technical data that supports its map revision request.  For more information about the LOMR process, go to http://www.fema.gov/letter-map-amendment-letter-map-revision-based-fill-process.
• A community can request a Physical Map Revision, or PMR, which is an official republication of a community’s FIRM.  These changes typically cover a larger geographical area than those reflected through the LOMR process.  The community must submit scientific and technical data to FEMA to support its request for a PMR.  Because of its scope, a PMR generally may take as long as 18 months to complete. For more information, please see: https://www.fema.gov/flood-map-revision-processes.

Flood maps are produced as a joint effort between a local community and FEMA.  Once the study is complete, FEMA publishes the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).  One set of paper copies of the new maps is provided to the local community and is kept on file in the Community Map Repository, which is typically found in the community’s planning and zoning or engineering department.  Along with the FIRMs, FEMA also publishes a Flood Insurance Study (FIS) Report that also is provided to the community and documents the detailed hydrologic and hydraulic analyses used to model the one-percent-annual chance flood event, determine base flood elevations, and designate floodways and high risk zones in the area that was studied. Digital copies of the FIRMs and FIS reports are available to view or purchase at https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home.

No.  When rain enters through a wind-damaged window or door, or comes through a hole in a wall or roof, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) considers the resulting ponding to be wind storm-related.  FEMA defines a flood as “A general and temporary condition of partial to complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties from overflow of inland or tidal waters, from unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, or from mudflow.”

The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Program was created as part of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act (NFIRA) of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 4101) with the goal of reducing or eliminating claims under the NFIP.  FEMA provides FMA funds to assist states and communities in implementing measures that reduce or eliminate the long-term risk of flood damage to buildings, manufactured homes, and other structures insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).  Three types of FMA grants are available:

• Planning Grants to prepare Flood Mitigation Plans.
• Project Grants to implement measures to reduce flood losses, such as elevation, acquisition, or relocation of NFIP-insured structures.  States are encouraged to prioritize FMA funds for applications that include repetitive loss properties; these include structures with two or more losses each with a claim of at least $1,000 within any ten-year period since 1978. Only NFIP-participating communities with approved Flood Mitigation Plans can apply for FMA Projects Grants.
• Management Cost Grants for the states to help administer the FMA Program.  Up to ten percent of Project Grants may be awarded to states for Management Cost Grants.

FEMA has several information sources and programs regarding levees and their impact on addressing flood risk management:

• The following link provides access to FEMA’s Living with Levees page, which includes a Levee Resource Library.
• FEMA’s process to analyze and map areas on the landward side of non-accredited levees on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) is described at https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance.

The Coastal Barrier Resources Act, or CBRA, significantly limits Federal assistance available in areas designated within the Coastal Barrier Resources system.  If any state or community wishes to apply for a planning or project grant for a CBRA unit within this system, the FEMA Regional Environmental Officer must first consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the eligibility of the activity.  More information about the Coastal Barrier Resources Act can be found at https://www.fema.gov/coastal-barrier-resources-system.

Multiple grant sources can be combined for a single project, or for a group of common initiatives.  Potential funding sources include funds from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which supports community watershed plans and some project implementation actions, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the NFIP Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) program for property owners, and Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans available for homeowners and small businesses after a federally-declared disaster. 

Flood hazard areas identified on the Flood Insurance Rate Map are identified as a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). SFHA are defined as the area that will be inundated by the flood event having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. SFHAs are labeled as Zone A, Zone AO, Zone AH, Zones A1-A30, Zone AE, Zone A99, Zone AR, Zone AR/AE, Zone AR/AO, Zone AR/A1-A30, Zone AR/A, Zone V, Zone VE, and Zones V1-V30.

Zone A - Areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event generally determined using approximate methodologies. Because detailed hydraulic analyses have not been performed, no Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) or flood depths are shown. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements and floodplain management standards apply.

Zone AE – Areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event determined by detailed methods. Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) are shown. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements and floodplain management standards apply.

Zone A99 – Areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event, but which will ultimately be protected upon completion of an under-construction Federal flood protection system. These are areas of special flood hazard where enough progress has been made on the construction of a protection system, such as dikes, dams, and levees, to consider it complete for insurance rating purposes. Zone A99 may only be used when the flood protection system has reached specified statutory progress toward completion. No Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) or depths are shown. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements and floodplain management standards apply.

Zone AR – Areas that result from the decertification of a previously accredited flood protection system that is determined to be in the process of being restored to provide base flood protection. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements and floodplain management standards apply.

Zone V - Areas along coasts subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event with additional hazards associated with storm-induced waves. Because detailed hydraulic analyses have not been performed, no Base Flood Elevations or flood depths are shown. Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements and floodplain management standards apply.

Zone X – The flood insurance rate zone that corresponds to areas outside the 1% annual chance floodplain; mandatory purchase requirements for flood insurance and minimum building standards do not apply to this zone.

For more information on these and other flood zone designations, including Guidance related to these designations, see https://www.fema.gov/glossary/flood-zones.