A community should keep an active inventory of its properties and update or reassess their risk based on the best available information (e.g., sea level rise rates, erosion rates, and updated flood studies). Knowing which properties are in hazardous areas can help a community make better decisions.
Depending on available resources, risks, and priorities, your community may wish to create a spreadsheet depicting the relative risks to each publicly owned building, or may choose to invest in complex but extremely useful computer modeling (for example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s HAZUS risk modeling computer application).
* Your community needs only 500 points to qualify for reduced flood insurance premiums through the Community Rating System (CRS). For more information (including how to apply for the CRS program), see our Community Rating System (CRS) primer.
Notes from the folks at CRS:
“Credit is provided under Activity 510, Floodplain Management Planning, if the community describes the impact of flooding on critical facilities and infrastructure.”