FLOOD09570

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Managing Floodplain Development in Approximate Zone A Areas
• Date: 4/1/1995
• Prepared By: FEMA
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

Guide for Approximate Zone A Areas

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

This guide is primarily intended to assist local community
officials in administering and enforcing the floodplain
management requirements of the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP). This document provides guidance for
determining Base (100-year) Flood Elevations (BFEs) in special
flood hazard areas that have been identified and designated as
approximate Zone A on a community's NFIP maps. Zone A
identifies an approximately studied special flood hazard area
for which no BFEs have been provided. Although BFEs are not
provided, the community is still responsible for ensuring that
new development within approximate Zone A areas is constructed
using methods that will minimize flood damages. This often
requires obtaining or calculating BFEs at a development site.

Developers, property owners, engineers, surveyors, and others
at the local level who may be required to develop BFEs for use
in approximate Zone A areas should also find this guide
useful. Included in this guide are methodologies that can be
used to develop BFEs, which can be used to determine the
elevation or floodproofing requirements for buildings. The
detailed methodologies described in this guide can also be
used to develop the BFE information necessary to obtain a
Letter of Map Amendment or a Letter of Map Revision Based on
Fill from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to
remove a legally defined property or structure from a special
flood hazard area. In addition, Letter of Map Revision
requestors may use the detailed methods in this document to
develop the BFE information that must be submitted to FEMA to
demonstrate that an area will not be flooded during the 100-
year flood.

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