Natural disasters present significant challenges to communities, causing not only loss of life and property but also leaving a lasting impact on the entire community infrastructure. When a disaster occurs and damages to structures within the boundaries of a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) are observed, communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) must assess the impacts on structures prior to repairs being made and permits being issued. The NFIP is a federally backed insurance program that provides flood insurance policies to property owners in communities that agree to adhere to program requirements. Participation in the NFIP requires the implementation of a local floodplain ordinance with a minimum set of criteria, including the Substantial Damage/Substantial Improvement (SD/SI) requirement. Over 22,000 communities nationwide participate in the NFIP. Additional benefits are offered to communities participating in the Community Rating System (CRS) for undertaking more floodplain management activities and can result in NFIP policy discounts for all holders in the jurisdiction. This benefit can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings to the citizens. The SD/SI process is a foundational piece of a local floodplain management regulations and aids the response and recovery process in the wake of a disaster..
Key Elements of the SD Process Planning
As part of the larger floodplain management program, many communities plan how they will respond to an event impacting structures within the SFHA that may require SD/SI assessments. This can include but is not limited to the development of systems of record, identification of data sets that can be used to enhance the speed of assessment, identification of quality control procedures, and the process for notifying property owners of an SD/SI determination and their ability to obtain a permit for repairs. Damage Assessment After any disaster, all damaged structures located in a designated floodplain must be assessed to determine the extent of damage. Onsite assessments include evaluating components of exterior and interior damage and determining the extent, or percentage, of damage to those components. FEMA has provided guidance for measuring damage related to the components of the structure. Data Entry and Analysis Field-collected data, along with any previously obtained data (structure information from assessor inventory, floodplain information, etc.), are compiled into a community’s system of record (SOR). There is no prescribed SOR, although FEMA provides the free FEMA Substantial Damage Estimator v3.0 tool to support data collection, SD calculation, and record retention. Using the data, along with the previously determined methodology for calculating SD, the community calculates the percentage of damage based on a structure’s pre-damage value. Typically, the pre-damage value is determined by the local floodplain ordinance, which states that the value is to be calculated from assessment or appraisal documentation. If tax assessment or appraisal information is not readily available or consistent across a jurisdiction, the community has the option to use the actual cash value of the structure calculated from the square footage and standard cost/sf by construction type. If a structure’s estimated damage exceeds 50% of its pre-damage value, that structure is considered to be substantially damaged.
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