FEMA – TXCHART – How the Maps Are Used
Texans love their coast and share a commitment to strengthen its resilience -- the ability to recover
when disaster occurs.
Flood risks are changing. Through flood studies and updated maps, Texas coastal communities
are receiving better information about the flood risks where they live and work. In partnership with
the State, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local communities, FEMA is preparing Flood
Insurance Rate Maps for 17 coastal counties of Texas to help prepare for the impact of America’s
most devastating natural hazard, flooding.
The Flood Insurance Rate Map, or FIRM, is a tool that allows communities to identify flood risks
and determine where to take action to reduce those risks to life and property.
Well the new mapping of course Is based a lot, of course, on LiDAR which will collect very precise,
accurate topographical data and elevations so the floodplain maps will be more accurate as a
result. Whereas before it was much more sparse information, it was developed by old technologies
so we should have more accurate mapping based on this new technology. and more accurate
mapping will mean we’ll have more accurate floodplains and so it should make our job easier.
Communities use the Flood Insurance Rate Maps to plan how high and where to build houses and
commercial structures.
I have the authority as the floodplain manager to judge whether a property is in a hazard zone. We
deal with that upfront during the permit process and we just disallow it. If they’re trying to build
something that doesn’t meet floodplain, it’s not allowed, it’s not permitted, that’s how we deal with
it.
There are three basic coastal zones and one new zone in the new NFIP maps. The flood zone X is
considered to be a low risk of flooding. VE zones or Coastal High Hazard Areas are zones where
high velocity wave action accompanies the storm surge and can cause severe damage to
buildings. AE zones are areas affected by storm surge but where wave action is diminished or
absent. For the first time FEMA has established another area within the AE zone called the Limit of
Moderate Wave Action or LIMWA. These moderate waves can cause damage to buildings, though
they are not as damaging as the waves expected in the VE zone. Communities that adopt the Limit
of Moderate Wave Action as a higher regulatory standard may earn flood insurance rate discounts.
In a V zone, the lowest horizontal member has to be above base flood elevation. In reality it should
be higher than that. I’ve got some extremely high quality V type construction that are being put in A
zones, where they could have less restrictive building methodology but they choose to be safe and
that’s good.
Coastal areas are some of the most at-risk areas since they are impacted by large amounts of
water and waves. The first step is to determine your flood risk.
GRAPHIC: How do you do that?
Even though the maps are preliminary, residents and business owners can go online to view the
maps and determine their flood risk. The txchart.com website is a valuable resource where you
can find information on the maps, flood insurance, levees, and find determine your flood zone.
If you find you are living in a high-risk area, buy flood insurance. Flood insurance requirements are
based on current effective Flood Insurance Rate Maps. There are also some practical things you
can do around your home or business, such as installing flood vents, raising your air conditioning
unit, or putting in sewer back flow valves. For more suggestions, visit floodsmart.gov, ready.gov,
listo.gov, or Fema.gov. Be informed, prepare, and have a plan for the next flooding event. Talk to
your local Floodplain Manager, another very valuable resource.
These houses along this block were built before Fema regs, most of them, so they didn’t know
about their zone and they didn’t build accordingly. They’re gonna blow away, float away. These are
massive, deep piles. This is a house that stands a good chance of making a big flood storm surge.
They’re using ‘best practices.’ This is still pretty much to V standard – it’s not required to be – that’s
‘best practices.’ We’ve been real lucky. How long does the luck hold? That’s the question.
We’re giving people a lot of information as to why they need to build to our specifications for public
safety and insurance rate purposes and uh, a lot of people basically don’t like being told what to do
with their land. And but at least we’ve done due diligence. We have explained to them their risks
and I think that is a big part of having a good floodplain department.
The tools that are available to me and everybody who is online gives me the capability to maybe
answer people’s questions a little bit more directly with some knowledge I didn’t have previously
because I’m able to go in and see how, under certain conditions, an area will be affected. We’ve
got a large segment of the population that’s never experienced a strong tropical storm, let alone a
hurricane.
Disasters threaten life and property, but a shared commitment, from federal to local to individual
mitigation decisions, can significantly reduce damage and loss by strengthening the resilience of a
community. Whether you live, work, or just enjoy the Texas coast, it’s important to know how
changes in flood risk and zones will affect your family and business. Be informed, be prepared,
and share this information with others. Do your part to raise awareness and make our Texas coast
resilient to disaster.