This tool allows you to enter an address or area to obtain the most up-to-date flood map. Therefore, if an investment property is on the border of a flood plane, you may still want to consider buying flood insurance.įor information on flood hazards and official flood maps, use the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. According to FEMA, more than 20% of flood claims come from properties not located in high-risk flood zones. Since flood insurance wasn’t required, many families will have to bear the tremendous financial burden themselves. However, with Hurricane Harvey, neighborhoods not considered flood zones were impacted. However, it will require additional upfront due diligence on your part so that if a hurricane or flooding occurs, you have your bases covered and your investment isn’t negatively affected.įor a property that is in an area designated a high risk for flooding and will be purchased with a mortgage, it is required by federal law to have flood insurance. A property located in a flood zone by no means automatically disqualifies a potential investment. “At the end of the day, it’s going to save lives and it’s going to help save money.Therefore, as real estate investors, we must take the possibility of flood damage into account when considering an investment. “We have the resources and tools to get ahead of that, to help communities build back better and more resilient,” she said. That involves getting more places involved in the community rating system and breaking the “rinse and repeat cycle” of building in the same place, the same way after disaster strikes. “It’s a really big deal that they have been able to do the hard work and make sure they have all the measures in place to help their community,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who came to Miami-Dade County on Friday to announce the “unprecedented” upgrade from class 5.Ĭriswell said her visit to South Florida to tout Miami-Dade’s accomplishment is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s push to move FEMA from an agency that reacts to disasters after they happen to one that helps protect communities before a disaster even happens. Monroe County, Pinellas County and Cutler Bay also have class 3 ratings. Miami-Dade is now one of only 19 communities across the country that have received a “class 3” designation in FEMA’s community rating system, an opt-in program designed to reward communities for going above and beyond the basic FEMA flood guidelines with insurance discounts. “Part of that is communication, getting the message out,” said Pete Gomez, head of the county’s department of emergency management. The county has several publicly available maps of local flood zones and recently completed a new plan to better warn residents of imminent floods, like the massive thunderstorms that often swamp Brickell. “ We were able to demonstrate we’re serious about making the changes to resilience,” said Marina Blanco-Pape, the county’s floodplain manager.Īnother key change was in how Miami-Dade warns its residents about their current and future flood risk. One big change was to the county’s flood criteria, which now requires all properties in unincorporated Miami-Dade - and some cities - to elevate the ground level of their properties to at least six feet above sea level. The county earned the new discount after proving to FEMA that it had done a lot in recent years to address flooding risk, including better warnings for residents, new development rules that take flooding into account and better mapping of the risks across the county. Who qualifies? The new discount applies to anyone in unincorporated Miami-Dade who has a flood insurance policy, both inside the flood zones - where it’s mandatory - and everywhere else. “We know people are not taking insurance because of the cost, so we really hope this will be an inducement for them to protect their homes and businesses.” It affects all of us,” said Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Flooding is obviously a top concern to our residents, to our businesses.
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