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Flood Insurance Flood insurance is a form of casualty in~)Urance which provides protection to property ONners who may incur losses from a flood. This coverage orovides a property owner with a direct means to recover financial losses. The definition of flood for insurance coverage purposes is: . a gen(!raJ and temporary concfition of partial or comolete inundation of normally dry land area from, . the overflow of inland or ticfal waters, . the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, . mudslides (i,e., mudflows) which are proximately caused by a ffood as je/ined above, . the collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a fake or other body ,')1 water as Q result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding the cyclical levels which resuft in a flood, . sewer (drain) backup, which is covered only if It is caused by flood, The NFIF' administered by FE,MA, provides the basis for a large part of the Federal Government's role 10 floodplain management. In exchange for assuring available and affordable flood insurance in a given community. the Federal Government requires that the local government meet certain conditions. The first condition is that the community use Federally approved floodplain delineation information, Qr the best informa- tion available, in making floodplain use decisions. The second, and major, conditiol1 is that the community initiate and maintain a permit system for development in the floodplain and that the community adopt an,j enforce floodplain management regulations which meet Federal standards. Those management aspects of th" NFIP are aimed at curtailin\;l ever increaslOg annual national flood damages and reducing the total annual national disas- ter relief expenditures. Potentia consequences of not meetin(l those conditions are loss of any Federally connected mortga\;le loans, (lrants, or other funding for develop' ment in floodplain areas of the community, denial of disaster relief funds for flood damages, and suspension from the NFIP, making property owners ineligible for flood insurance. The U,S. Justice Department ha~'S filed two civil SUitS In LOUISiana 1rl an attempt to recover more than $90 million in NFIP payments to property owners. The suits allege "willlul and negligent" activities on the part of private de,velopers, contractors, engine.Hs. and local pUblic authorities. They were filec in May 1981 and are still ongoing. For a property owner to purchase flood insurance as offered by the NFIP, the entire community must be enrolled 10 the program. The insurance can be purchased, however, from any casualty insurance agent. (Fixed rates are establish,~d by the Nf'IP for use by the private insurance industry.) Any community can Qualify for tl1e benefits of the program by submitting a complete application, which is available from FEMA, and by adopting pre- liminary floodplain management measures.@ The Flood Hazard Boundary Maps and Flood Insuranc" Rate Maps which are the re'gulatory maps of the NFIP do not normally cOnsider tt,e possibility of dam failure floods. The 1 OO-year flood is assumed to result from some form of precipitation. Even thou\lh the maps do not depict the dam failure flood zone, any property owner or resident in that zone may purchase flood insuranco if the community is enrolled in the NFIP, Claims resulting from dam failure floods are reimbursed on the same basis as claims resulting from pre- cipitation floods. Emer'gency Preparedness In most communities no matter how much is accomplished in thH way of structural and non-structural floodplain management alternatives, there will still be portions of the community that will experience flooding on occasion. For that reason most communiti"s need to include in their emergency pre- paredneHs plan consideration of what to do when flooding occurs. "What to do" will consist of: 1') detnrmining areas that migl1t experience flooding, 2) having a systematic means for obtaining flood forecasting information, 3) disseminating appropriate warnin\ls to those who need to be warned, 4) safedy evacuating those facing danger, 5) beginning recovery efforts as soon as possible, 6) returning residents to tl1eir homes and businesses when it iB safe, 7) completing the recovery process. 29