Local Officials Join Forces

ILLINOIS – The Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management (IAFSM) created the Rapid Assistance Flood Team (RAFT) in 2015, developing a collaborative approach to assist local officials who may be overwhelmed by the scope of the flooding and need assistance completing flood damage assessments in their jurisdictions. The post-flood damage assessments are required of communities who participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and are one of the main tenets of the program, which makes flood insurance available to residents within the participating community.

“We started RAFT about four years ago, and it was in answer to the 2013 floods when one of our (IAFSM) members had 300 homes go under water and only two people to assess the damage,” said Mike Suftin, building and zoning official for the City of Ottawa, Illinois. Suftin is also the chairperson for the Floodplain Management Committee for the IAFSM. “It’s the collaboration at the local level that is the only thing that will work,” he added. “We (floodplain managers) know what we are doing, and we need to share that. The RAFT team of 20 floodplain managers from across the state converged on Watseka March 1, 2018 and helped Webster tackle 676 post-flood inspections in one day. This effort alone saved weeks of work for Watseka’s single public official, according to Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Osman. The RAFT concept is the brainchild of Osman, who works closely with local building officials across the state to supply technical assistance and assure compliance with floodplain regulations.

“Illinois is blessed with many of the best local officials in the nation,” Osman said. “We have local officials from all over the state who are experts at doing damage assessments and who have volunteered their time to be here today.” Local officials from South Elgin and Lisle to Mason and LaSalle counties as well as Illinois State Water Survey staff spent the day assisting Watseka.

“This type of function (substantial damage assessments) needs to happen long before FEMA comes in,” said Joe Ragle, an enforcement official from Mason County, who requested RAFT assistance when flooding occurred in his jurisdiction in 2015. “Locals need to get in there first, to assess the situation, calm everybody down and let them know what the situation might be.”

Ragle says that homeowners may be upset at first about having to elevate their homes before beginning the rebuilding process, but it all makes sense in the long term. The Illinois and Sangamon Rivers converge at the southern tip of Mason County and are responsible for flooding within the county. It was not unusual to see several hundred flood insurance claims in past floods. Ragle says mitigation works. When the rivers rose this year, zero flood claims were paid in Mason County.

RAFT is a voluntary group of experienced, local and state level Certified Floodplain Managers within Illinois who help each other perform required post flood damage assessments that then enable communities with limited manpower to manage the recovery efforts, permit repairs and communicate ways property owners can build back higher and stronger, according to City of Ottawa’s Suftin.

Suftin said this is the fourth time since the conception of RAFT in 2015 that the team has gathered to assist a community overwhelmed by the substantial damage assessment duties. Watseka was the first to receive assistance from RAFT in 2015. The team also assisted Fox Lake and Mason County.

“My advice to communities is to get somebody on staff certified as a Certified Floodplain Manager. We promote educating one person on staff (at the local level). Then they will understand the (floodplain) ordinance and what it means,” said Suftin.

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