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Consider "Substantial Damage" in Rebuilding Texas

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is working closely with the Texas Water Development Board, the Texas state coordinator of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and other agencies to help hundreds of local communities with their recovery and rebuilding issues after Hurricane Ike.

One issue is compliance with the NFIP substantial damage rule. This issue is important because enforcing this rule can help communities mitigate future losses of life and property during times of flooding. Failure to enforce these measures can jeopardize the community’s continued participation in the NFIP and ability to qualify for federal assistance.

In order to participate in the NFIP, local communities must adopt and enforce adequate floodplain management regulations that meet or exceed the agency’s minimum criteria. In return for the adoption and enforcement of these regulations, FEMA makes flood insurance available throughout the community.

Local floodplain management ordinances and NFIP regulations are intended to prevent development or redevelopment within the floodplain without adequate mitigation measures. The ordinances and regulations require the following:

• Development permits must be obtained for all proposed construction or other development, including post-disaster repairs, within the identified flood hazard areas of the community. Development is defined as any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations, or storage of equipment or materials.
• All new construction, substantial improvements, or restoration of substantially damaged residential structures shall have the lowest floor elevated to or above the identified base flood elevation (BFE), which is developed using scientific data and engineering studies. It is the level water would be expected to reach in a flood that has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year, also called the 1-percent-chance flood. 

• Substantial damage exists when the cost of restoring a structure to its pre-damaged condition equals or exceeds 50 percent of the structure’s pre-damage market value, regardless of the cause of the damage. “Substantial improvement” means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred “substantial damage,” regardless of the actual repair work performed.
• All new construction and/or substantial improvement of non-residential structures shall either have the lowest floor (including basement) elevated to or above the identified BFE or be designed so that the area below the BFE is watertight with walls that are impermeable to water and are capable of withstanding hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressures.
• Encroachments including fill, new construction, substantial improvements, substantial restoration or other developments are prohibited within an adopted regulatory floodway if it is determined that the encroachment would result in any increase in flood levels within the community during the occurrence of the 1 percent or 100-year flood.

Floodplain management regulations are designed to mitigate future losses of life and property. FEMA, the State of Texas, and local communities are working together throughout the areas impacted by Hurricane Ike to help citizens rebuild and recover with safety and security.

Additional Information:

For more information, visit FloodSmart.gov and FEMA.gov.

For general flood insurance questions, call 1-800-427-4661 or contact your insurance company or insurance agent.

To protect your property with a flood insurance policy, call your insurance agent or call 1-800-427-2419 to find an agent near you.

For FEMA Disaster Assistance, call 1-800-621-3362.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 11-Aug-2010 14:46:18 EDT