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FEMA Media Library

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Guidance: Flood Profiles (Dec 2020)

This document provides guidance to support the production of flood profiles for inclusion in Flood Insurance Study (FIS) Reports. Flood profile standards and technical specifications required to achieve the minimum level of consistency are found in the Standards for Flood Risk Analysis and Mapping and the FIS Report Technical Reference respectively. The purpose of this document is the practical application of those standards and requirements and the consistent development of the attributes not specifically addressed by those documents.

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Guidance: Flood Depth and Analysis Grid (Dec 2020)

One of the primary ways to communicate more complete flood risk information and to inform actions that can be taken to reduce flood risk is to deliver detailed information on depth of flooding, probability of flooding, and other flooding characteristics in the form of raster datasets (see Figure 1, where the darker blue areas represent greater flood depths). Similar to the pixels of a photo or graphic, a grid is a digital raster dataset that defines geographic space as an array of equally sized square cells arranged in rows and columns. The value in each cell represents the magnitude in that location of the flooding characteristic represented by that particular grid. Within the Flood Risk Database (FRD), raster datasets can be produced to reflect water surface elevations (WSELs), depths, velocities, percent-annual-chances of flooding, and other values. Other raster datasets that are unique to coastal areas and dams are also available within the Coastal-Specific Non-Regulatory Datasets Guidance and Dam-Specific Non-Regulatory Datasets Guidance documents.

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Guidance: Flood Insurance Study (FIS) Report (Dec 2020)

The Flood Insurance Study (FIS) Report is a companion to the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and FIRM Database in the depiction and communication of regulatory flood hazard information within a county or jurisdiction. Whereas the FIRMs depict regulatory flood hazard information in graphical format, the FIS Report presents communities and end users with information on the study methodology, data, and results in tabular format. This document supplements the FIS Report Technical Reference and provides additional guidance to support the preparation of FIS Reports in accordance with the Technical Reference.

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Guidance: Floodway Analysis and Mapping (Dec 2020)

This document provides guidance for floodway analysis, and all the components that accompany it. A floodway is a tool to assist communities in balancing development within the floodplain against the resulting increase in flood hazard. A regulatory floodway is defined as the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land area that is reserved from encroachment in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water-surface elevation by more than a designated height. NFIP regulations and Standard SID 69 and 70 state: “Floodway surcharge values must be between zero and 1.0 ft. If the state (or other jurisdiction) has established more stringent regulations, these regulations take precedence over the NFIP regulatory standard. Further reduction of maximum allowable surcharge limits can be used if required or requested and approved by the communities impacted.”, and “If a stream forms the boundary between two or more states and/or tribes, either the 1.0-foot maximum allowable rise criterion or existing floodway agreements between the parties shall be used.”

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Guidance: Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Graphics (Dec 2020)

This document contains guidance for the development and submission of Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panels. The graphic format for the FIRM panels can be found in the FIRM Panel Technical Reference, Format for FIRMs, Guidelines and Standards for Flood Risk Analysis and Mapping. The FIRM Panel Technical Reference is accessible through the FEMA Guidelines and Standards for Flood Risk Analysis and Mapping webpage.

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Guidance: Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Database (Dec 2020)

This document contains guidance for the development and submission of Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Databases. A full description of the standards and schema for the content of the FIRM Database can be found in the FIRM Database Technical Reference.

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Guidance: Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Index (Dec 2020)

To support greater automation within the Risk MAP Program, FEMA is developing a tool within the Mapping Information Platform (MIP) called Automated Map Production (AMP). AMP will automate FIRM panel creation, replacing previous practices of manual cartography. The goal of AMP is to eliminate the need for manual edits or adjustments to labels on the FIRM panels and FIRM index.
AMP will read the data in a submitted FIRM database and use a series of cartographic algorithms, with established rules of hierarchy, to autogenerate FIRM panels and indexes that comply with FEMA requirements through all study stages (e.g. draft, preliminary, and final). However, AMP will not change the engineering analysis or alter the FIRM database (i.e. geodatabase; shapefiles). AMP will not fix errors in the submitted FIRM database (e.g. topology). It will continue to be the responsibility of the FIRM database producer to perform quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) to make sure the submitted data meets all Risk MAP standards. Producers will also be expected to visually review the auto generated AMP panels to determine if they meet expectations or require changes. If updates are needed, the producer will edit the FIRM database and then resubmit to the MIP as usual to begin the process over, to include required DVT submittals.

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Guidance: Physical Map Revision (PMR) (Dec 2020)

The objective of the Physical Map Revision (PMR) is to update the regulatory flood hazard data and ensure that the most current and up-to-date flood hazard data, including all new studies and Letters of Map Revision (LOMRs), are incorporated into the National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL). PMRs are processed by FEMA when a portion of a community’s flood hazards need to be revised and updating the full countywide regulatory products is not necessary. As a result, the updated flood hazard data will be used to create revised Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panels and a PMR FIRM Database.
Outlined in this guidance document is the process that Mapping Partners should follow when preparing and submitting PMRs. The roles and responsible parties for each phase are listed and the details of each responsibility are listed sequentially. A graphical representation of multiple LOMR scenarios and how to address each of them is provided in Section 3.0. A summary of the PMR scenarios is provided in Section 4.0.

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Guidance: Mapping Information Platform (MIP) (Dec 2020)

The Mapping Information Platform (MIP) supports the Risk Mapping Assessment and Planning (Risk MAP) program by facilitating the production, management, and sharing of flood hazard data and maps in a digital environment. The MIP is a system of tools that integrates program and project management, data storage and retrieval, standardized quality reviews, and project tracking and reporting into one web-based application.
The MIP is a system of record for the Risk MAP program and serves as the primary portal for the capture, validation, retrieval, and storage of flood hazard mapping data produced by flood studies, and revisions and amendments (i.e., Letters of Map Change (LOMC). This document provides guidance on the various functions supported by the Studies platform within the MIP, including, user access and technical support, tools and functionality, project management and workflow activities, and data capture and dissemination. For guidance on the LOMC process MIP users should see the MT-1 Technical Guidance document.

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Guidance: LOMR Incorporation (Dec 2020)

This document provides guidance to Production & Technical Services (PTS) Mapping Partners for Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) incorporation activities as part of Flood Risk Projects. The application of the guidelines in this document will facilitate data transfers between the PTS MT-2 teams, the PTS National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) teams, and the PTS Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) production teams. Topics covered by this guidance include MT-2 post-processing procedures, the incorporation of “mappable” LOMRs affecting the FIRM or FIS Report materials during the Data Development through Effective Issuance PTS production stages of a Flood Risk Project, and guidance on the re-incorporation of finalized (effective-ready) FIRM Database data back into the NFHL.