Community Notes: Flood insurance, the Community Rating System, flood safety

By John Fallis, Charles City City Engineer

The great literary playwright William Shakespeare wrote, “What need the bridge much broader than the flood?” Sounds like Shakespeare and 16th century England had few concerns about development in the floodplain.

Today in Iowa, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources have laws and regulations that property owners must follow and local governments have to enforce.

The federal government, through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), writes flood insurance policies to protect property owners from losses due to flood damage. The city of Charles City is a participating member in the NFIP.

If you are considering flood insurance, now is the time to act. There is a 30-day waiting period before a NFIP flood insurance policies take effect. You do not want to wait until there is an imminent flood threat to consider a flood insurance policy.

If you do have flood insurance, you may want to review your policy to determine if the policy covers only your house or if your policy also protects your furniture and contents in your home from flood losses. There can sometimes be more damage to the personal property in the house than to the structure of the house itself. Your insurance agent can also assist you in this review.

Government subsidies supporting flood insurance premium rates are being eliminated in favor of actuarial rates. There is a program available to NFIP members to help discount flood insurance policy rates.

The city of Charles City in 2018 applied and was accepted into FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS) program that can help discount flood insurance premiums for policies through the NFIP. Currently only 5 percent of the 22,000 communities participating in the NFIP also participate in the CRS.

The Community Rating System is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities. As a result, flood insurance premium rates are discounted to reflect the reduced flood risk resulting from the community actions designed to meet the three goals of the Community Rating System: reduce flood damage to insurable property, strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the NFIP, and encourage a comprehensive approach to floodplain management.

Looking ahead to spring and the threat of potential flooding, we encourage everyone to remember the following safety guidelines:
1) Do not drive through a flooded area. More people drown in their cars than anywhere else.

2) Do not walk through flowing water. Six inches of moving water can knock you off your feet, and drowning is the No. 1 cause of flood deaths.

3) Stay away from power lines. After drowning, electrocution is the second leading cause of death during a flood event.

If you have any questions about flood insurance, floodplain development, flood-proofing or permits required for work in the floodplain, please do not hesitate to contact me at City Hall.