Questions for Discovery Interviews
Contacts
1. First I’d like to go over the contacts we have collected to make sure we have our contacts list up
to date…
2. Are there any others you think we should add to our list?
3. We didn’t find any tribal lands in the watershed. Does that sound correct to you?
4. Are there others that you think would be interested in participating in Discovery for this
watershed?
Fact Sheets and Interview Maps
1. Did you have a chance to look over the Fact Sheet and Interview Reference Map we sent? How
did the data look to you?
Topography, LiDAR and GIS
1. Where are you critical facilities and infrastructure? In GIS? Are you prepared for hazard
scenarios? Are these part of your HMP?
2. FEMA has a database of best available topographic data that shows LiDAR datasets; the
Interview Reference Map shows the areas of LiDAR collection that we know of. Do you know of
any other topographic data collection projects in the area?
3. We have collected a lot of GIS data from the web and FEMA’s database. In order to provide a
more complete and accurate depiction of your communities Discovery Map we would like to
request local GIS layers like transportation layers, political boundaries, land use data, parcel
data, building footprints, essential facility data, inundation areas from historic flooding, other
hazards and coastal data. Does your community have a GIS specialist and do you have local data
you would like provide to us for the Discovery Meeting?
Planning
1. What do you value in your community?
 Infrastructure
 Economy
 Recreation
 Populations
 Parks
2. As you may know, communities that complete a hazard mitigation plan are eligible for FEMA
mitigation grant funding. FEMA records show that:
 Your community has not completed a plan. Is your community currently preparing a
plan or interested in doing so?
 Your community’s existing plan expired on [DATE] date. Is your community currently
working to update the existing plan?

Your community’s plan is effective through [DATE] date. Does your community want
any assistance in implementing or improving the existing plan?
Hazard Mitigation Plans are a great place to document your community’s intentions and needs for
future mitigation projects so you can begin to plan for Federal grants.
3. Do you need assistance with mitigation planning in your community?
4. What are your top hazard mitigation priorities?
 Hazards?
 Risks?
5. Does the Hazard Mitigation Plan rank your priorities [correctly]?
6. Do you have evacuation, response, or recovery plans adopted and in practice?
7. Does your emergency management office have a plan for resilience?
8. Are there other hazard (wildfire, flood) mitigation projects that you will be adding to your next
mitigation plan update? Where? Why?
9. Past grant projects? Successes?
We saw that there were [several…a few…no…] mitigation projects that have occurred within your
city/county limits.
10. Do you know of any additional mitigation project that might have occurred in or near the
community?
11. Do you current land use planning regulations direct development away from hazards (wildfire,
flood areas)?
12. Do you have regulations that promote hazard safety/mitigation/prevention?
Earthquakes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Does your community have an earthquake risk?
Has your community experienced an earthquake before? If so when? Magnitude? Epicenter?
Was there any damage from the earthquake?
Is there any infrastructure that may be significantly impacted by an earthquake?
Has your community completed any mitigation actions for earthquakes?
Wildfire
1. How would you describe the wildfire hazard in the Watershed?
2. Is there a need to better understand/identify critical structures at risk to the wildfire hazard?
3. Are there other identified needs related to wildfire hazards that you’d like to share?
Landslides
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Are there landslide concerns in your community?
Has your community had historic landslides? If so where?
Is there development or potential development in landslide prone areas?
Have specific roads been identified that may be impacted by a landslide?
Has your community completed any mitigation actions for landslide?
Severe Storms
1. How often does your community have severe storms (including high wind, winter storm,
lightening, hail storm, ice storm)?
2. Does your community normally have power outages during severe storm events? If so how long
is the power normally out?
3. Does your community have to shelter people during severe storms? How many shelters are
normally available?
4. Is there normally damage caused from a severe storm event?
5. How do citizens receive information about a severe storm (local news, internet, community
website etc.)?
Flooding
1. Are there areas on your FIRM where the SFHA doesn’t accurately reflect the 1% ACF?
 Which of these areas would you consider to need a restudy or redelineation?
i. Name of Flooding Source
ii. Beginning and End points or General Location of Area Needing Map Update
 Could you prioritize the areas as far as what you believe to be most important to study?
 Are there clusters of LOMA along a flooding source?
2. Area there areas with past claims that are outside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas?
3. Area there repetitive loss properties in the community (properties that had experienced flood
problems enough to require repeat claims).
 Do you think a mitigation project to acquire these structures would be appropriate?
4. Do you know of any recent transportation projects, like replaced bridges, culvert replacement or
upgrading, or highway reconstruction that were in the floodplain?
 Many times these transportation projects are not quickly reflected in the flood maps.
 Can you tell us the location and date?
 Do you know if LOMRs were performed for any of these?
5. Are there areas of rapid growth or development that may have affected the water runoff or
areas that are close floodplains?
 Were Letters of Map Change (LOMRs) performed as part of the development? How
about other land changes, like wildfires or landslides?
6. What are you using the FIRM for that makes an update necessary? Are there other tools that
could meet those needs?
7. Are you aware of any existing studies completed by the community, developers, or the DOT?
 Can you identify the general locations for us?
 IF YES, we need to have those studies in hand before the Discovery meeting.
 Can you send us either a pdf or hard copy?
8. Does the community have funding that they could contribute to a new study?
9. Any other flooding issues (Examples: Coastal/Lakeshore Storms, Coastal Waves >3 feet (V Zones,
Coastal Waves 1.5-3 feet (Coastal A Zones/LiMWA), Coastal Erosion, Tsunamis, Riverine
(Overbank) Flooding, Flash Flooding, Alluvial Fan Flooding, Channel Migration, Shallow Flooding,
Ponding, Local Drainage Problems, Sewer Back-Ups,, Sheet Flow Closed Basins, Ice Jams,
Subsidence, Mudflows)
Levees
We collected levee data from the National Levee Database and is it displayed on the Interview
Reference Map.
1. Do you know of other levees or other flood control structures along the floodplains in your
community?
 Do you have documentation for any of these levees that they meet FEMA 65.10
requirements?
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
1. Are there any environmentally sensitive areas identified in your community? Do you know of
others?
Communications and Outreach
As you see on the Fact Sheet, we found that you have been involved in [several, a few]
presidentially-declared disasters.
1. Did your community establish any special outreach programs to provide residents with
information during or after the disasters?
As part of Discovery, FEMA wants to support local officials in educating their residents about hazard
risk. We would like to ask a few questions about your community's communication strategies:
2. What current engagement projects are you involved in? Current community outreach activities?
3. If new flood studies were performed for the high priority areas we discussed earlier, what do
you anticipate the resident’s reaction might be to the new flood study results and associated
flood maps?
4. What current engagement projects are you involved in? Current community outreach activities?
5. Where do you get your information?
 Partners
 State/Federal sources
6. Where does your public get their information about hazards?
7. Who are your key players? Decision makers? Influencers? Community champions?
8. Have you found any particular type of outreach that works better to communicate risk to these
folks?
9. Each community has unique opportunities and challenges for outreach due to their local
resources and the local conditions that impact that community. What is the current awareness
level about natural hazards among your citizens?
10. With supporting templates and information, would your community be willing to take a
proactive approach in educating citizens about their risk and steps they can take to protect
themselves?
11. Are there regular meetings that your community officials hold where a status on this project
might be appropriate to add to the agenda?
12. If we provided information about the project to you/the Mayor/Executive would your
community be willing to send a letter inviting the community to a meeting or providing project
update(s)?
13. At the end of a Risk MAP project, FEMA will provide you with new data and risk assessment
tools that will help you and your residents better understand and visualize your risks. With
customizable outreach tools and templates provided by FEMA, would you and/or your
community be willing to take a proactive approach in educating people who live and work in
your community about their risk and the steps they can take to protect themselves?
Compliance and Training
1. Does your community have an identified Floodplain Administrator?
2. Do you have a floodplain permitting process?
3. Is training or other support in floodplain management needed?
Closing
1. Would you be willing to have a future call/meeting to discuss the community’s capabilities and
support resources that may be needed from FEMA?
2. Is there anything else you think we should know or include on our map?