Notices & FAQs

Buildings in special flood hazard areas shown on Flood insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) may be damaged when flooding occurs. Some buildings flood frequently, while others get damaged by only the more severe events.
If your home is in the 1% annual chance floodplain, it has a 26% chance of getting flooded over a 30-year period. This means it is about five times more likely to get damaged by flood than by a severe fire.
You should know that usually you can get flood insurance, if available, by contacting your regular homeowners insurance agent. FEMA and others recommend that everyone in special flood hazard areas buy flood insurance. If you buy a home or refinance your home, your mortgage lender or banker may require flood insurance. But, even if not required, it is a good investment especially in areas that flood frequently or where flood forces are likely to cause major damage.
Another thing you should know is that your community may require permits for remodeling, improving, expanding, or rebuilding your building. In order to reduce long-term flood damage, the National Flood Insurance Program requires that buildings that are substantially improved or substantially damaged become compliant.
This means if the cost of the improvements or repairs is more than 50% of the market value of the building, you will have to make it compliant with the rules for floodplain construction. Usually, this means lifting it off the foundation and elevating it above the predicted flood level. If you carry a flood insurance policy and have major flood damage, you may be eligible for up to $20,000 more to help pay for the cost of this work.

If you apply for help from FEMA because your insurance does not cover all of your disaster related needs, you need to write a letter to FEMA explaining your situation and include a copy of a settlement or denial letter from your insurance company. FEMA cannot duplicate any insurance coverage.

A flood is defined in the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP), in part, as a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties (at least one of which is your property) from overflow of inland or tidal waters, from unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, or from mudflow.

In support of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), FEMA has undertaken a massive effort of flood hazard identification and mapping to produce Flood Hazard Boundary Maps (FHBMs), Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps (FBFMs).
Several areas of flood hazards are commonly identified on these maps. One of these areas is the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), which is defined as an area of land that would be inundated by a flood having a 1% chance of occurring in any given year (also referred to as the base flood or 100-year flood). The 1% annual chance standard was chosen after considering various alternatives.
The standard constitutes a reasonable compromise between the need for building restrictions to minimize potential loss of life and property and the economic benefits to be derived from floodplain development. Development may take place within the SFHA, provided that development complies with local floodplain management ordinances, which must meet the minimum federal requirements. Flood insurance is required for insurable structures within the SFHA to protect federal financial investments and assistance used for acquisition and/or construction purposes within communities participating in the NFIP.

A Flood Insurance Study (FIS) is a book that contains information regarding flooding in a community and is developed in conjunction with the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The FIS, also known as a flood elevation study, frequently contains a narrative of the flood history of a community and discusses the engineering methods used to develop the FIRMs. The study also contains flood profiles for studied flooding sources and can be used to determine base flood elevations for some areas.

The difference between the lowest floor elevation (including basement) of your structure and the 1% annual chance flood elevation is used to determine the insurance rating. Note: Buildings and structures are insurable. The National Flood Insurance Program does not insure land.

For purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), fill refers to soil that is used to raise the level of the ground. Depending on where the soil is placed, fill may change the flow of water or increase flood elevations. Fill may be used to elevate a building to meet the NFIP requirements. Sometimes fill is combined with other methods of elevation such as pilings or foundation walls. Placement of fill in the Special Flood Hazard Area requires a local permit from the community.
If fill has been added and removes a structure or property from a floodplain, you may file for a Letter of Map Revision-based on Fill to consider the elevations.

A community’s permit file must have an official record that shows new buildings and substantial improvements in all identified Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) are properly elevated. This elevation information is needed to show compliance with the floodplain management ordinance.
FEMA encourages communities to use the Elevation Certificate developed by FEMA to fulfill this requirement since it also can be used by the property owner to obtain flood insurance. Communities participating in the Community Rating System (CRS) are required to use the FEMA Elevation Certificate.

Communities are required to adopt and enforce a floodplain management ordinance that meets minimum National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements. Communities that do not enforce these ordinances can be placed on probation or suspended from the program. This is done only after FEMA has provided assistance to the community to help it become compliant.

Probation is the formal notification by FEMA to a community that its floodplain management program does not meet National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) criteria. It is an action authorized under federal regulations.

A community can be placed on probation 90 days after FEMA provides written notice to community officials of specific deficiencies. Probation generally is imposed only after FEMA has consulted with the community and has not been able to resolve deficiencies. The FEMA Regional Director has the authority to place communities on probation.

Probation may be continued for up to one year after the community corrects all program deficiencies and remedies all violations to the maximum extent possible.

An additional $50 charge is added to the premium for each policy sold or renewed in the community. The additional charge is effective for at least one year after the community's probation period begins. The surcharge is intended to focus the attention of policyholders on the community's non-compliance to help avoid suspension of the community, which has serious adverse impacts on those policyholders.
Probation does not affect the availability of flood insurance.

Suspension of a participating community (usually after a period of probation) occurs when the community fails to solve its compliance problems or fails to adopt an adequate ordinance. The community is provided written notice of the impending suspension and granted 30 days in which to show cause why it should not be suspended. Suspension is imposed by the Associate Director and Mitigation Directorate of FEMA.
If suspended, the community becomes non-participating and flood insurance policies cannot be written or renewed. Policies in force at the time of suspension continue in force for the policy term. Three-year policies remain in force until the next annual anniversary date of the policy.

Flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is not available within that community. Furthermore, Section 202(a) of Public Law 93-234, as amended, prohibits federal officers or agencies from approving any form of financial assistance for acquisition or construction purposes in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).
For example, this would prohibit loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, insured by the Federal Housing Administration, or secured by the Rural Housing Services. Under Section 202(b) of Public Law 93-234, if a Presidentially declared disaster occurs as a result of flooding in a non-participating community, no federal financial assistance can be provided for the permanent repair or reconstruction of insurable buildings in SFHAs. Eligible applicants may receive those forms of disaster assistance that are not related to permanent repair and reconstruction of buildings. If the community applies and is accepted into the NFIP within six months of a presidential disaster declaration, these limitations on federal disaster assistance are lifted.

The National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) recognizes community efforts beyond the NFIP minimum standards by reducing flood insurance premiums for the community's property owners. The discounts may range from 5-45%. The discounts provide an incentive for new flood mitigation, planning, and preparedness activities that can help save lives and protect property in the event of a flood.

Participation in the Community Rating System (CRS) is voluntary. A community in compliance with the rules and regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) may apply. The community's Chief Executive Officer must appoint a CRS coordinator to handle the application work and serve as the liaison between the community and FEMA.
The first step in the application process is for the community to obtain a copy of the CRS Coordinator's Manual, which describes the program and gives details on the eligible activities. The CRS coordinator should fill out and submit an application for participation in the CRS. The CRS will verify the information and arrange for flood insurance premium discounts.

View Community Rating System (CRS) information on FEMA's website.

The City of Missouri City Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a process by which the city develops a multi-year plan for major capital expenditures that matches available resources and satisfies the city tax rate stabilization objective.
For more information, see Volume II of the City Budget: CIP, which contains detailed descriptions and justifications for each project with expenditures in the current fiscal year and future years.

A full list of projects may be found in the budget book. And the current ongoing projects can be found here.