In 1999, Hurricane Floyd flooded thousands of square miles of eastern North Carolina and left thousands of people homeless. This disaster highlighted our vulnerability to natural disasters and the need for accurate, up-to-date floodplain maps.
In 2000, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated North Carolina as a Cooperating Technical State in conjunction with the federal flood map modernization program. As a result, the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program began the task of updating North Carolina's flood hazard data and creating new Flood Insurance Studies (FIS) and Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRM) to identify those areas of the state at risk of flooding.
DFIRMs may be viewed in a variety of formats, including digitally on a computer within a geographic information system (GIS), as raster images in PDF format, or as paper maps. Digital flood maps are composites of base data, topographic data, and flood layers that can be viewed in combination with local parcel information or other data to more easily determine if a house or other property is, or will be, located in a Special Flood Hazard Area or floodway.
Access the NC Floodplain Mapping Program to view fact sheets, Frequently Asked Questions, and information about how map changes affect flood insurance.
To protect people and property. Floodplain management is about building smartly. If we know where our high-risk flood areas are located, we should be able to make reasonable decisions to help protect our families, homes, and businesses.
To make sure that federal flood insurance and disaster assistance are available. Through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), property owners in participating communities are able to purchase flood insurance to insure against flood losses. Failure by the community to administer wise floodplain management consistent with the minimum NFIP requirements will jeopardize continued participation in the NFIP and will jeopardize the ability to purchase flood insurance. If your home or business is in the floodplain and federal flood insurance is not available, then you cannot receive some types of federal financial assistance. Home mortgages will be hard to find, and certain types of state and federal loans and grants will be unavailable.
To save tax dollars. Every flood disaster affects your community's budget. If we build smarter in and near floodplains, a community will have fewer problems the next time the water rises. Remember, federal disaster assistance is not available for all floods. Even when the President of the United States declares a disaster, most of the time your community still has to pay a portion of the costs of evacuation, temporary housing, repair, and clean-up. Careful local management of development in the floodplains results in construction practices that can reduce flood losses and the high costs associated with flood disasters to all levels of government.
To avoid liability and lawsuits. If we know an area is mapped as a high-risk flood area, if we know people could be in danger, and if we know that buildings could be damaged, it makes sense to take reasonable protective steps when we develop and build. The local governing body may be susceptible to liability by not participating in the NFIP because their action to not participate (a) denies the ability of its citizens to purchase flood insurance, (b) does not take positive steps to reduce the exposure of life and property in the face of authoritative scientific and technical data, and (c) may permit unwise development that aggravates flooding.
To reduce future flood losses in North Carolina. Development that complies with the minimum floodplain management requirements is better protected against major flood-related damage. Another benefit that comes from a community's participation in, and administration of, the NFIP minimum floodplain requirements is that those communities are eligible to apply for pre- or post-disaster hazard mitigation grants that can take active steps towards reducing the flood risk to structures in the floodplain through projects that involve elevating, moving, and/or purchasing and demolishing structures.