The FloodSmart Media Guide gives you an important overview of the National Flood Insurance Program and an introduction to the FloodSmart campaign.

Why talk about floods?
Flooding is the nation's #1 natural disaster. In just the past 10 years (1998-2007), annual flood losses in the United States averaged $2.39 billion per year. Currently, over 5.5 million policyholders are protected with flood insurance policies– however many more homeowners remain at risk.

Though floods routinely strike residential areas across the country, every year millions of uninsured homeowners, business owners and renters are devastated when their property is damaged by flooding.

The FloodSmart Campaign
Many Americans are unprepared when floods strike. They often don't fully understand their risk of flooding and the basic facts about flood insurance. And many don't realize that their homeowners insurance does not cover damage caused by floods.

In response, FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) launched the FloodSmart campaign to educate the public about the dangers of flooding and to help them protect their property. Throughout the year, the campaign uses a variety of media types (print, Web banner ads, radio and direct response TV) to get the message out, both locally and nationally.

The FloodSmart Media Resources
The FloodSmart Media Resources offers the media valuable information about the nation's flood risk, background about the FloodSmart campaign, and details on flood insurance and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

About the NFIP
Under the National Flood Insurance Program, federally-backed flood insurance is available to homeowners, renters and business owners in communities that adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances to reduce future flood losses by regulating new construction in high flood-risk areas. Currently, more than 5.5 million flood insurance policies are in 20,556 participating communities nationwide.

About FEMA
On March 1, 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.