Flood hazard and the National Flood Insurance Program
What is the risk of flooding in Lee County?
In Lee County, flood risk generally results from tropical storms, hurricanes and related coastal wave
surges or from sheet flow. Sheet flow is the natural drainage of surface water south through the Florida
peninsula to the Everglades.
Formal assessment of the flood risk in Lee County has been conducted by FEMA for flood mapping
analysis and by the Lee County Public Safety Department as part of its Local Mitigation Strategy.
FEMA published information about the principal flooding problems here as part of its 2008 Flood
Insurance Study http://www.leegov.com/gov/dept/dcd/FloodMapping/Pages/Documents.aspx and in its
2014 Coastal Discovery Report http://www.leecounty.com/gov/dept/dcd/FloodMapping/Documents/FEMAFloodZones/2014DiscoveryReport.pdf FEMA
points out that not all storms which pass close to the area produce either coastal storm surge or flooding
along rivers, creeks, canals and other interior waterways. In the past 50 years, Lee County has been
included in 14 federally declared disasters. The most recent was Tropical Storm Debby in July 2012. Not
all of these events result in flooding and significant flood insurance claims.
In the past 20 years, there have been 28 flood occurrences which resulted in property damage in Lee
County and its municipalities and flood claims. Of those, eight were for claims of $20,000 or less. The
incident with the highest value of claims occurred in the unusually high rainy season of 1995 which
resulted in flood insurance claims throughout Lee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties valued at $10 million.
How will I be notified of a flood-related disaster?
In addition to traditional communication through mass media, Lee County Emergency Management will
notify residents individually of dangerous flooding through multiple methods of outreach, including:
CodeRed – A free telephone, text or email service
http://sp.leegov.com/publicsafety/Documents/Emergency%20Management/FAQs%20about%20CodeRE
D.pdf
LeeEvac for iPhone – A free app for Apple devices that pushes evacuation notifications in real time
during emergencies and which also allows users to search for evacuation zones by street address
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/leeevac/id457829255?mt=8
LeeEvac for Android – A free app for Android devices that pushes evacuation notifications in real time
during emergencies and which also allows users to search for evacuation zones by street address or by
GPS
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=LeeEvac&c=apps
Facebook – This Facebook page posts real time updates about emergency conditions and always offers
general preparedness information
https://www.facebook.com/LCEMFL
Twitter – There are two Twitter accounts: @LeeEOC - offers purely emergency information;
@LCEMFL - offers also includes general and preparedness information
IPAWS – Lee County Public Safety is a FEMA Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS) Alerting
Authority. We can utilize the IPAWS to alert and warn Lee County residents and visitors about serious
emergencies through various means, including the Emergency Alert System (EAS), Wireless Emergency
Alerts (WEA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio. See
FEMA’s IPAWS website for more information: https://www.fema.gov/integrated-public-alert-warningsystem
How does Lee County address flood emergencies?
Lee County joined the National Flood Insurance Program in 1984. As a result:
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Property owners here may purchase flood insurance policies through the NFIP.
FEMA will provide disaster assistance here in the event of a federally declared disaster.
FEMA routinely assesses the risk of flooding here and updates Flood Insurance Risk Maps.
In addition, Lee County and all of its municipalities participate in the NFIP’s Community Rating System,
which provides a discount in the cost of the flood insurance policy.
What do I need to know about flooding and flood insurance?
Know your flood hazard
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Learn about historic flooding in Lee County in FEMA’s 2009 Flood Insurance Rate Study
http://www.leegov.com/gov/dept/dcd/FloodMapping/Pages/Documents.aspx and 2014 Coastal
Discovery Report. http://www.leecounty.com/gov/dept/dcd/FloodMapping/Documents/FEMAFloodZones/2014DiscoveryReport.pdf
Look up your flood zone through two online search engines: “Find My Flood Zone”
http://leegis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Solutions/s2.html?appid=0e132205d6be493c919e420a19febc
0f offers a quick look up by address. Lee Spins
http://www.leegov.com/gov/dept/dcd/FloodMapping/Pages/HowtoUseLeeSpInS.aspx provides a
more in-depth research tool based on geographic information systems (GIS).
In Lee County, flood zones which begin with an “A” or a “V” require flood insurance if the property
is mortgaged. Read the definitions of flood zones. http://www.leecounty.com/gov/dept/dcd/FloodMapping/Documents/FEMAFloodZones/FloodZonesDefined.pdf
Insure your property for your flood hazard
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Floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States. The National Flood Insurance
Program reports that nearly 20 percent of flood insurance claims are for property in moderate to
low-risk areas.
Most property/casualty insurance does not cover flood damage. The National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP), https://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/ which is administered by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, is a federal provider of flood insurance policies.
Flood insurance is required for mortgages on structures in areas designated as a Special Flood
Hazard Area https://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/faqs/what-is-a-special-flood-hazardarea.jsp and Coastal High Hazard Area. https://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program2/coastal-high-hazard-area. Read about the mandatory purchase of flood insurance.
http://sp.leegov.com/dcd/Documents/FloodMapping/MandatoryFloodInsuranceInfo.pdf
Even if your property is in a low-risk zone, take advantage of the preferred rate policy for flood
insurance. An existing policy offers rate advantages if the property is mapped into a higher-risk
category in the future.
If you don’t have a mortgage and are not required to have flood insurance, consider getting an
NFIP policy anyway. In addition to the insurance coverage, it may also be an advantage if you
sell the property to a buyer who finances with a mortgage. The policy will transfer to the new
owner, possibly offering some grandfathering discounts for pricing.
You don’t have to own your home or business to get an NFIP policy. The NFIP offers insurance
for renters’ possessions.
Learn more about flood insurance at www.floodsmart.gov.
Protect yourself, your family and your employees from flood hazard
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Stay out of flood waters. They can contain dangerous chemicals from gasoline, oil, industrial and
household compounds, and sewage.
If you see standing water in a road – Turn Around; Don’t Drown. Don’t drive or walk through rising
water.
Protect your property from flood hazard
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In addition to getting flood insurance, visit FEMA’s virtual library to learn how to protect structures.
http://www.fema.gov/protecting-home
Build responsibly:
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Check with your jurisdiction to see if your project requires a building permit
o Bonita Springs http://cityofbonitaspringscd.org/
o Cape Coral https://etrakit.capecoral.net/etrakit3/
o Fort Myers http://www.cityftmyers.com/188/Permits-Applications
o Fort Myers Beach http://www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov/index.aspx?nid=73
o Sanibel http://www.mysanibel.com/Departments/Building
o Unincorporated Lee County
http://www.leegov.com/gov/dept/dcd/Permitting/Pages/default.aspx
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If your property is in the Special Flood Hazard Area, it must meet a base flood elevation and other
National Flood Insurance regulations. Learn about them at www.leegov.com/dcd/floodmaps.
Consider the advantages of building higher than the base flood elevation. Doing so will lower the
cost of flood insurance and will lessen the risk of flood damage.
Agricultural buildings in the Special Flood Hazard area – anything in an A, AE or V zone – are
NOT exempt from National Flood Insurance Program construction requirements, even though
they are exempt from the Florida Building Code.
Fill and construction are prohibited in regulatory floodways unless the work us permitted by a No
Rise Certification.
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Protect natural floodplain functions
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Protection and restoration of natural flowways helps ensure proper surface water management to
mitigate the effects of storms or sheet flow.
Maintenance of drainage ditches, weirs and canals, sewer systems and other water conveyances
helps ensure proper surface water management to mitigate the effects of storms or sheet flow.
Learn more:
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Look up flood zones and base flood elevations for specific parcels by address.
http://leegis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Solutions/s2.html?appid=0e132205d6be493c919e420a19febc
0f
Obtain copies of FEMA Elevation Certificates for structures in:
o Bonita Springs http://cityofbonitaspringscd.org/elevation-certificates/
o Cape Coral
http://www.capecoral.net/department/community_development/elevation_data.php#.VRW
5i_zF_fB
o Fort Myers http://www.cityftmyers.com/188/Permits-Applications
o Fort Myers Beach http://www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=746
o
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Sanibel http://www.mysanibel.com/Departments/Planning-and-CodeEnforcement/Frequently-Asked-Questions
o Unincorporated Lee County http://www.leecounty.com/gov/dept/dcd/FloodMapping/Documents/FEMAFloodZones/ElevCert.pdf
Download copies of current Flood Insurance Rate Map panels.
http://www.leegov.com/gov/dept/dcd/FloodMapping/Pages/Documents.aspx
Research recent changes to the flood maps.
http://www.leegov.com/gov/dept/dcd/FloodMapping/Pages/Floodways.aspx
Read the 2008 Flood Insurance Study for Lee County. www.leegov.com/dcd/flooddownloads