FLOOD BASICS
What
is a "flood"? For flood insurance purposes, "a flood is a general and
temporary condition where two or more acres of normally dry land or two
or more properties are inundated by water or mudflow."
Floodplains
are designated by the frequency of the flood that is large enough to
cover them. For example, the 10-year floodplain will be covered by the
10-year flood and the 100-year floodplain by the 100-year flood.
Flood
frequencies, such as the "100-year flood," are determined by plotting a
graph of the size of all known floods for an area and determining how
often floods of a particular size occur. Another way of expressing the
flood frequency is the chance of occurrence in a given year, which is
the percentage of the probability of flooding each year. For example,
the 100-year flood has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year.
The National Flood Insurance Program has established a de facto
minimum standard of protection against the 100-year flood. This is a
relatively low level of protection. For example, there is a 26% chance
that a levee or channel designed to contain the 100-year flood will be
at that design capacity at least once over a 30 year period. All residents and businesses in areas vulnerable to flooding should have flood insurance.
Homeowner insurance policies DO NOT cover damage from rising water.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT
Floodplain
management assists customers in meeting the requirements of the Gulf
County Land Development Regulations and the National Flood Insurance
Program. This office is the archive for all the flood information for
the county, and the other local jurisdictions, including flood insurance
rate maps, elevation certificates, letters of map amendment, historical
flooding, coastal barrier resources areas, and flood insurance studies.
This office is also responsible for the Community Rating System or CRS
information. CRS is a voluntary program which based on activities
performed determines a discount from 5 percent to 40 percent on flood
insurance rates. This office assists the special projects and grants
department with Mitigation of flood prone structures. The following
information can be obtained from this office.
FLOOD INSURANCE
*
Did you know that homeowners’ insurance does not cover flood damages?
Only flood insurance covers flood damages. As a member the National
Flood Insurance Program, flood insurance is available to all citizens of
Gulf County.
*
Did you know that there is a 30 day waiting period before insurance
coverage will be effective? So do not delay in obtaining flood insurance
coverage.
* Did
you know that 30% (approximately) of all flood insurance claims arise
from Zone X (area of minimal flooding)? Just because you are not in a
high hazard zone, does not mean that you will never flood.
Take
precautions with your property, purchase flood insurance. Talk to your
insurance agent today or visit the “FloodSmart” web page listed in the
links.
If
you have questions about Flood Protection and what can be done at a
specific location to possibly mitigate future flood damages we can help
with those questions. Please contact our Floodplain Manager for further
information or read the “Property Protection” flyer in the links. If a
site visit is needed, we can set that up as well.
TURN AROUND DON'T DROWN: Remember that 12” of water can float a car, don’t drive thru a flooded street or go around barricades.
Prepare for flooding by doing the following:
*
Know how to shut off the electricity and gas to your house when a flood comes.
* Make a list of emergency numbers and identify a safe place to go.
* Make a household inventory.
* Put insurance policies, valuable papers, medicine, etc., in a safe place.
* Collect and put cleaning supplies, camera, waterproof boots, etc., in a handy place.
Practice some flood protection measures:
*
Mark your fuse box to show the circuits in the floodable areas.
* Consider elevating your structure above flood levels.
* Check your building for water entry points, such as dryer vents. These can be protected
by low walls or temporary shields.
* Install a floor drain plug, standpipe, overhead sewer backup valve to prevent sewer
backup flooding.
* Develop a disaster response plan. See the RedCross’ website at www.redcross.org for
information
* Get a copy of“Repairing your flooded home”. This can be found at the Red Cross’ website listed
above.
Talk to the Grants Department for possible grants for mitigation:
Please
remember that the more documentation you have regarding past flooding,
the better we can assist you with possible grant opportunities. All
grants are competitive and require a benefit cost analysis.
Message of Service
If you want to know if a property is in the Special Flood Hazard Area, check our website at GoMaps.
You’ll find a wealth of information about the County’s Flood Insurance
Rate Map, coastal high hazard areas, flood depths at your property,
natural conservation areas and wetland, flood insurance, special rules
for building in the floodplain, and ideas for protecting your property
from flood damage. Or you can call the Planning Department with all of
your floodplain questions at (850) 227-9562. We also have copies of FEMA
Elevation Certificates.
And,
upon requesta communityrepresentative will make a site visit and
provide one-on-one advice to an owner about protection of the property
concerning flooding, drainage, and sewer problems. Call (850) 227-1401.