- What is Floodplain Management?
- What must a community do to join the NFIP?
- Community Assistance Program
- Additional Areas of Interest
- Other Federal Programs that help the NFIP
To receive NFIP e-mail updates
What is Floodplain Management?
Floodplain management is the operation of a community program of corrective and preventative measures for reducing flood damage. These measures take a variety of forms and generally include requirements for zoning, subdivision or building, and special-purpose floodplain ordinances.
A community's agreement to adopt and enforce floodplain management ordinances, particularly with respect to new construction, is an important element in making flood insurance available to home and business owners. Currently over 20,500 communities voluntarily adopt and enforce local floodplain management ordinances that provide flood loss reduction building standards for new and existing development. See the Community Status Book for all participating communities.
To help State and local officials in implementing the NFIP, see our
- Adoption of Flood Insurance Rate Maps by Participating Communities
- NFIP Floodplain Management Requirements
- NFIP Policy Keyword Index
To encourage communities to establish sound floodplain management programs that recognize and encourage community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements, the Community Rating System (CRS) was created. This program provides communities with discounts to flood insurance rates.
Additional floodplain management resources are available to download or can be ordered from the FEMA Publication Distribution Center by calling 1-800-480-2520 and requesting the publication by its FEMA number.
What must a community do to join the NFIP?
To join the Program, the community must submit an application package that includes the following information:
- Application For Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (FEMA Form 81-64): This one-page form asks for the following information:
- Community name
- Chief Executive Officer
- Person responsible for administering the community's floodplain management program
- Community repository for public inspection of flood maps
- Estimates of land area, population, and number of structures in and outside the floodplain
- Resolution of Intent: The community must adopt a resolution of intent, which indicates an explicit desire to participate in the NFIP and commitment to recognize flood hazards and carry out the objectives of the Program.
- Floodplain Management Regulations: The community must adopt and submit floodplain management regulations that meet or exceed the minimum flood plain management requirements of the NFIP.
For more information about joining the program:
- Please read Joining the National Flood Insurance Program.
- Please contact your FEMA Regional Office or the NFIP State Coordinating Agency for information about joining the Program. These offices will provide an application, sample resolution, and a model floodplain management ordinance.
Community Assistance Program
The Community Assistance Program (CAP) is a product-oriented financial assistance program directly related to the flood loss reduction objectives of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). States that are participating in the NFIP are eligible for this Federally funded assistance. The CAP is intended to help States identify, prevent, and resolve floodplain management issues in participating communities before a flood event.
Find more information about the two other elements that make up the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP):
In addition, you can visit the Map Service Center for other NFIP resources and to order and view official FEMA flood insurance rate maps.
Additional Areas of Interest
- How the NFIP Works
- NFIP Policy Keyword Index
- NFIP Study Guide and Desk Reference
- Community Rating System
- Increase Cost of Compliance
- National Flood Mitigation Data Collection Tool
- NFIP Forms