[StBernard] FEMA's Flood Zones and How they Affect Your Property When Rebuilding From Katrina

[Westley Annis]

FEMA's Flood Zones and How they Affect Your Property When Rebuilding From
Katrina

November 11, 2005 


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When St. Bernard Parish joined the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
in 1970, the parish made a commitment to require permits of all development
in the Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA's) as depicted on the FEMA issued
Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).  St. Bernard residents and businesses are
located in either:

A-zones: Areas of 100-year flood with Base Flood Elevations (BFE's) and
flood hazard factors determined; 
V-zones: Areas of 100-year coastal flood with velocity (wave action); BFE's
and flood hazard factors determined. 
B-zones: Areas between limits of the 100-year flood and 500-year flood or
areas protected by levees from the base flood 
The cost of a flood insurance policy for property owners is based on which
of these zones the property is located in and, in the case of A zones, at
what height the lowest floor is located in relation to the BFE, and in V
zones the height of the lowest horizontal member.  Property owners in the A
and V zones should have been required to obtain a policy by their bank or
mortgage company; those who no longer had a mortgage or lived in a B-zone
may have voluntarily purchased a policy.

As a result of Katrina, FEMA is preparing to issue "flood advisory levels"
to all of the communities in the area, including St. Bernard.  This guidance
is still being prepared and will not be available until late November.

In the interim, the following information should help parish citizens and
business owners understand what these "flood advisory levels" mean and how
they will affect their decisions on rebuilding:

Structures built in the A or V zones before the first FIRM's were issued by
FEMA in 1975 are referred to as pre-FIRM.  These structures were
automatically "grandfathered" and are eligible to purchase flood insurance
at a subsidized rate.  
Pre-FIRM residential structures that have the lowest floor below BFE and as
a result of Katrina are declared substantially damaged by the parish must
rebuild so that the lowest floor (A zone) or lowest horizontal member (V
zone) is at or above the BFE, and commercial structures must be elevated or
flood proofed to the BFE.  A structure is "substantially damaged" when the
cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal
or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage
occurred. 
This rule applies regardless of whether or not the owner had a flood
insurance policy.  If they did have a policy, they are eligible for the
Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) benefit which can provide them with up to
$30,000 to raise the structure to the current community required elevation,
pay for the demolition of a severely damaged structure, and elevate or flood
proof non-residential buildings. 
Pre-FIRM structures that were already at or above the current community
required elevation or are not declared substantially damaged by the parish
are not required to elevate higher.  
Regardless of the extent of damage, post-FIRM structures that were built to
the current community required elevation are not required elevate higher. 
The FIRM's are currently being restudied and should be effective in about a
year to eighteen months.  If the BFE's are raised higher on the new FIRM's,
property owners who maintain their existing, or purchase a new flood policy
before the new BFE's become effective, will be grandfathered for rating
purposes based on the current FIRM, as long as the policy is not dropped at
some point after the new FIRM's are effective. 
St. Bernard residents and business owners should rebuild safer and think
carefully about protecting their homes and businesses to the maximum
practical extent.  Once FEMA issues their "flood advisory levels" we
encourage property owners to seriously consider raising their homes to
reduce storm related damages to their property in the future.  In addition,
owners who voluntarily elevate their structures to the advisory levels or
above the current community required elevation will save substantially on
their flood insurance premiums, as indicated in the chart below:

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            Pre-FIRM          |          Post-FIRM
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   Elevation   | Cost of Flood|   Elevation   | Cost of Flood
 Difference of |   Insurance  | Difference of |   Insurance  
  Lowest Floor |   (per year) |  Lowest Floor |   (per year) 
 and BFE (Feet)|              | and BFE (Feet)|              
-------------------------------------------------------------
               |              |    +3 to +4   |    $  424
               |              |       +2      |    $  464
  None Needed  |              |       +1      |    $  641
   (Pre-FIRM)  |    $ 1,547   |     At BFE    |    $  988
               |              |    -1 Below   |    $3,938
               |              |    -2 Below   |Submit for Rate
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