Is your property flood prone?

To determine if your property is within the FEMA designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) in the St. Cloud city limits, call the City of St. Cloud Public Works Department at (407) 957-7283 or come to the Public Works Department to review the map. The information is also available at all the Osceola County Libraries or at FEMA's map center. All structures built within the flood hazard area will require an elevation certificate available at the City's Building Department or in the Public Works' folder in the Document Center.

Who needs to have flood insurance?

Everyone, but all fee simple property (located in the SFHA) purchased, constructed, repaired or improved using federal assisted loans or grants are required to purchase flood insurance.  If you do not have flood insurance, check with your insurance agent.

On October 1, 2009, important changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) will take effect. There will be an increase in rates, the standard deductibles, and the basic insurance limits. These combined changes will result in an average premium increase of 8 percent. The increases will apply only to policies that are written or renewed after October 1, 2009.

The standard deductible of $500 is being discontinued for all properties. The new standard deductible for Post-FIRM (Flood Insurance Rate Map) properties will be $1,000 and Pre-FIRM properties will be $2,000. Owners of Pre-FIRM properties have the option to buy back the $1,000 deductible within 60 days of the renewal of their flood insurance policy. Otherwise, deductibles cannot be reduced midterm unless required by the mortgagee. It is important to remember that there is a 30-day waiting period unless it is a requirement for loan closing. In most cases the deductible is only a fraction of the average flood insurance claim, which can be substantial.  

The basic insurance limits are also increasing for all categories of buildings and contents:

The basic limit for 1-4 Family Dwelling Coverage will increase from $50,000 to $60,000. Additional insurance limits are $190,000 for a total limit of $250,000.

·     Other Residential Building Coverage basic limit will increase from $150,000 to $175,000 with additional insurance limits of $75,000 for a total limit of $250,000.

·     Non-Residential Building Coverage will increase from $150,000 to $175,000 for the basic limit. Additional insurance limits are $325,000 for a total of $500,000.

·     Residential Contents Coverage basic limit will increase from $20,000 to $25,000.  Addition limits are $75,000 for a total insurance limit of $100,000.

·     Non-Residential Contents Coverage basic limit will increase from $130,000 to $150,000. Additional insurance limits are $350,000 for a total insurance limit of $500,000.

How does the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) work for me?

Standard homeowners insurance policies will not cover your loses if your home floods during periods of heavy rainfall or other flood events. There is additional help. The City of St. Cloud participates in the NFIP, flood insurance is now more readily available for your home. Since the city provides additional drainage services, a discounted rate is offered to those who purchase flood insurance policies.

Do you have drainage concerns?

The City of St. Cloud Public Works Department will provide technical assistance to address your drainage concerns. Call (407) 957-7283 to report any unusual flooding in your area or to schedule an on-site visit.

What safety precautions should you take during an emergency flood notice?

When an Emergency Flood Warning Notice is issued for your area, take safety precautions immediately. Please check the Emergency Information website and follow the guidelines listed below:

• Do not walk or drive through flowing or standing water. Unseen obstructions or hazards may cause damage to you or your vehicle. Also, sewage from overflowing lines may be present in the water.
• Avoid downed power lines and electrical wires. These lines can cause electrocution.
• Turn off the power in your house. This should include all propane gas tanks and lines.
• Watch your step in flooded areas. Slip and fall accidents are common in wet and slippery areas.
• Be alert for small animals that are flushed out by flooding conditions. Remember, under stress, animals may react by biting when disturbed.
• Be aware of gas leaks in the house. Do not smoke, use candles or open flames until you are sure no leaks exist; ventilate enclosed areas if you think gas is present.

Are you aware of any illegal dumping?   

City Code prohibits dumping of garbage or trash (grass clippings, leaves, limbs, used motor oil, etc.) in any ditch or storm sewer. These types of illegal activities impair drainage and may be responsible for the flooding of your property. Please notify the City of St. Cloud at 407-957-7283 of any illegal dumping you witness. The house you protect may be your own.

What can you do to protect your property?

There are things you can do to minimize property damage before a flood event occurs. Elevating and securing electrical appliances, placing all low-lying electrical fixtures on separate electrical circuits, and using flood resistant materials on the exterior surfaces are some ways you can help yourself. Under emergency situations, aside from sandbags that the City provides to shore structures, elevating or covering furniture and valuables can help minimize damage. Remember adding and removing structures will a require building permit. Please call the Building Department at (407-957-7235) for further questions.

How are floodplains important to our community?

Rainfall drains into floodplains such as wetlands, swamps and ditches. It filters through these areas and is eventually stored underground. Underground water is the primary source of drinking water and domestic water in Central Florida. It is important that we protect and maintain these drainage areas, the quality of our drinking water depends on it.

Myths and Facts about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)  

Myth: You can?t buy flood insurance if you are located in a high-flood-risk area.

Fact: You can buy National Flood Insurance no matter where you live if your community participates in the NFIP, except in Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) areas.  The Program was created in 1968 to provide flood insurance to people who live in areas with the greatest risk of flooding, called Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs).  In fact, under the National Flood Insurance Act, lenders must require borrowers whose property is located within an SFHA to purchase flood insurance as a condition of receiving a federally regulated mortgage loan.  There is an exemption for conventional loans on properties within CBRS areas.

     Lenders should notify borrowers that their property is located in an SFHA and National Flood Insurance is required.

Myth: You can?t buy flood insurance immediately before or during a flood.

Fact: You can purchase flood coverage at any time.  There is a 30-day waiting period after you?ve applied and paid the premium before the policy is effective, with the following exceptions: 

1. If the initial purchase of flood insurance is in connection with the making, increasing, extending or renewing of a loan, there is no waiting period.  The coverage becomes effective at the time of the loan, provided application and payment of premium is made at or prior to loan closing.

2. If the initial purchase of flood insurance is made during the 13-month period following the effective date of a revised flood map for a community, there is a one-day waiting period. This only applies where the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is revised to show the building to be in an SFHA when it had not been in an SFHA.

The policy does not cover a ?loss in progress?, defined by the NFIP as a loss occurring as of 12:01 a.m. on the first day of the policy term.  In addition, you cannot increase the amount of insurance coverage you have during a loss in progress.

Myth: Homeowners insurance policies cover flooding.

Fact: Unfortunately, many homeowners do not find out until it is too late that their homeowners policies do not cover flooding.  National Flood Insurance protects your most valuable assets-your home and belongings.

Myth: Flood insurance is only available for homeowners.

Fact: Flood insurance is available to protect homes, condominiums, apartments and nonresidential buildings, including commercial structures.  A maximum of $250,000 of building coverage is available for single-family residential building; $250,000 per unit for residential condominiums.  The limit for contents coverage on all residential buildings is $100,000, which is also available to renters.

Commercial structures can be insured to a limit of $500,000 for the building and $500,000 for the contents.

Myth: You can?t buy flood insurance if your property has been flooded.

Fact: You are still eligible to purchase flood insurance after your home, apartment or business has been flooded, provided that your community is participating in the NFIP.

Myth: Only residents of high-flood-risk zones need to insure their property.

Fact: Even if you live in an area that is not flood-prone, it?s advisable to have flood insurance.  Between 20 percent and 25 percent of the NFIP?s claims come from outside high-flood-risk areas.  The NFIP?s Preferred Risk Policy, available for just over $100 per year, is designed for residential properties located in low-to moderate-flood-risk zones.

Myth: National Flood Insurance can only be purchased through the NFIP directly.

Fact: NFIP flood insurance is sold through private insurance companies and agents, and is backed by the Federal government.

Myth: The NFIP does not offer any type of basement coverage.

Fact: Yes it does.  The NFIP defines a basement as any area of a building with a floor that is below ground level on all sides.  While flood insurance does not cover basement improvements, such as finished walls, floors or ceilings, or personal belongings that my be kept in a basement, such as furniture and other contents, it does cover structural elements, essential equipment and other basic items normally located in a basement. Many of these items are covered under building coverage, and some are covered under contents coverage.  The NFIP encourages people to purchase both building and contents coverage for the broadest protection.

The following items are covered under building coverage, as long as they are connected to a power source and installed in their functioning location:

·         Sump pumps

·         Well water tanks and pumps, cisterns and the water in them

·         Oil tanks and the oil in them natural gas tanks and the gas in them

·         Pumps and/or tanks used in conjunction with solar energy

·         Furnaces, hot water heater, air conditioners and heat pumps

·         Electrical junction and circuit breaker boxes and required utility connections

·         Foundation elements

·         Stairways, staircases, elevators and dumbwaiters

·         Unpainted drywalls and sheetrock walls and ceilings, including fiberglass insulation cleanup

     The following items are covered under contents coverage:

·         Clothes washers

·         Clothes dryers

·         Food freezers and the food in them

Myth: Federal disaster assistance will pay for flood damage.

Fact: Before a community is eligible for disaster assistance, it must be declared a federal disaster area.  Federal disaster assistance declarations are issued in less than 50 percent of flooding incidents.  The premium for an NFIP policy, averaging about $400 a year, is less expensive than interest on federal disaster loans.

Furthermore, if you are uninsured and receive federal disaster assistance after a flood, you must purchase flood insurance to remain eligible for future disaster relief.

Myth: The NFIP encourages coastal development.

Fact: One of the NFIP?s primary objectives is to guide development away from high-flood-risk areas.  NFIP regulations minimize the impact of structures that are built in SFHAs by requiring them not to cause obstructions to the natural flow of floodwaters.  Also, as a condition of community participation in the NFIP, those structures built within SFHAs must adhere to strict floodplain management regulations.

In addition, the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) of 1982 relies on the NFIP to discourage building in fragile coastal areas by prohibiting the sale of flood insurance in designated CBRA areas.  While the NFIP does not prohibit property owners from building along coastal areas, any Federal financial assistance, including federally backed flood insurance, is prohibited.  However, CBRA does not prohibit privately financed development or insurance.

Myth: The NFIP does not cover flooding resulting from hurricanes or the overflow of rivers or tidal waters.

Fact: The NFIP defines covered flooding as a general and temporary condition during which the surface of normally dry land is partially or completely inundated.  Two properties in the area or two or more acres must be affected.  Flooding can be caused by:

·         The overflow of inland or tidal waters, or

·         The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source, such as heavy rainfall, or

·         Mudslides, i.e., mudflows, caused by flooding, that could be described as a river of liquid and flowing mud and

·         The collapse or destabilization of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water, resulting from erosion or the effect of waves, or water currents exceeding normal, cyclical levels.

Myth: Wind-driven rain is considered flooding.

Fact: No, it isn?t.  Rain entering through wind-damaged windows, doors or a hole in a wall or the roof, resulting in standing water or puddles, is considered windstorm?rather than flood?damage.  National Flood Insurance only covers damage caused by the general condition of flooding (defined  above), typically caused by storm surge, wave wash, tidal waves, or the overflow of any body of water over normally dry land areas.  Buildings that sustain this type of damage usually have a watermark, showing how high the water rose before it subsided.  Although the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) specifically excludes wind and hail damage, most homeowner?s policies provide such coverage.

Discontinuance of Paper Flood Insurance Rate Maps 

Effective October 1, 2009 FEMA will discontinue the distribution of paper maps.  The paper maps will be replaced with Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs). Replacing the paper map products with digital versions is more environmentally friendly and will improve the usability of FEMA?s flood hazard data. It also provides users with a more powerful tool for insurance activities and flood risk management

Why are all of these changes being made?

The NFIP has implemented these changes in order to prepare for future flooding events and to lessen the burden on taxpayers of paying for future flood damage. To ensure the viability of the program it is necessary to have premium levels that correspond to the risk that is being assumed. Most insurance carriers impose annual rate increases on products such as auto insurance, homeowners insurance, etc. and some insurance carriers may refuse coverage to certain high risk prospects, in order to continue to thrive.  However, unlike other forms of insurance, the NFIP, whose policies are sold through various insurance companies and agents, will not refuse to offer coverage as a result of multiple claims or any large sustained loss.  The NFIP continues to provide reasonable rates to people who purchase flood insurance to protect their homes and businesses against the Nation?s number one natural disaster.

For more information about the NFIP, please visit www.FloodSmart.gov,  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or ISO website.

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