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For many people, floods are quickly forgotten. Flooding is a temporary condi- tion--Qnce the water recedes, people forget there was a problem, and how costly floods can be. By identifying and confronting flooding problems directly, and making this a formal part of community planning, residents are more likely to understand the threat of future flooding and its impact on the community. ,/ Planning is by design a slow and complex process: it should be done before, not after a flood. Post-flood planning involves major and often controversial decisions on repairing, redeveloping or abandoning flooded areas. These decisions must be made quickly, in a crisis atmosphere, with short-term emotional responses often overwhelming the long-term rational solutions that adequately address the problem. Good crisis management is important to a community, but it cannot substitute for thorough pre-flood planning. Identifying your flood problem(s) by involving the public Although not mandatory, we strongly recom- mend public involvement in identifying WhOOps! I guess wa should have ordered a longer ladderl .... , problems and issues up front, as well as throughout the mitigation planning process. Survey the Community You might consider a survey of community residents to help identify past flooding prob- lems. The survey could ask for such information as: ,/ Types of flooding residents have experi- enced ,/ Severity of the flooding (depth, damage, duration) ,/ Flooding frequency ,/ Flooding causes ,/ Suggested remedies and other comments Convene a "Citizen's Advisory Committee" Organize a citizen's advisory committee that reviews all available flooding data and assists in categorizing and prioritizing the action steps to take. Public brainstorming and nominal group sessions are other excellent methods of solicit- ing public comment and spreading ownership of mitigation issues across a wide cross-section of the community. See Appendix D for more specifics on public involvement strategies and techniques. Suggested actions for identifying your problem(5) To effectively identify the community's flood problems, we recommend the following steps: ,/ Involve the public through surveys, meetings, committees, etc. ,/ Review all available records (newspaper accounts, public works, emergency government, Corps of Engineers, DNR, Natural Resources Conservation Service) ,/ Determine the scope of flooding: when it occurred, where, severity (depth, damage, duration), how often it occurs (community- wide, specific areas). Draw the boundaries 24 COM~UNITY FLOOD MITIGATION PLANNING GUIDEBOOK