Huntsville Recognized For Reducing Flood Risk 

Release Date: November 13, 2003
Release Number: R4-03-239

ATLANTA -- The city of Huntsville has been rewarded for its recent efforts to reduce flood risk, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced, a move that will pay off handsomely for homeowners with flood insurance policies.

Because of Huntsville's development of a hazard mitigation plan and a strategy for targeting citizens with the most flood risk, the city's risk rating under the FEMA-administered National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) dropped a full point, triggering a 15 percent reduction in flood insurance premiums.

"For the people of Huntsville, this is indeed a win-win situation," said FEMA Region IV Director Ken Burris. "Not only can they look forward to a significantly lower risk of flooding, they will also pay a lot less to insure against that possibility."

The savings for the entire community, said Burris, amounts to approximately $113,434.

The city's efforts will be formally recognized on Nov. 13 when Todd Davison, mitigation division director for FEMA Region IV, presents a plaque to the Huntsville City Council. Accompanying Davison will be Trey Glynn, Director of the Alabama Division of Water Resources, who will discuss the state's recent receipt of a $3 million flood map modernization grant from FEMA. Part of that money will be used for a Madison County mapping project.

Almost 2.9 million policyholders in 994 communities around the country now benefit from the NFIP's method of rewarding communities that undertake actions to lessen flood risk. That method, called the community rating system, assigns points to communities based on level of risk. The better the flood risk management, the lower the score, and, consequently, the lower the insurance premiums.

For information about flood insurance, property owners should contact their insurance agent or call the NFIP toll-free information line, 1-800-427-4661. Flood insurance information is also available on the FEMA website at www.fema.gov/nfip/.

On March 1, 2003, 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 Citizen Corps, the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.

Last Modified: Friday, 14-Nov-2003 09:46:00