flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Petition urges FEMA to update flood maps, set tougher standards for floodplain construction

Codes and Standards

Petition urges FEMA to update flood maps, set tougher standards for floodplain construction

Environmental and planning groups note soaring claims, flood insurance debt.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | January 14, 2021

Courtesy Pixabay

Environmental and planning groups have petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to update flood maps, set tougher standards for floodplain construction, and prepare for climate change.

The groups noted that the National Flood Insurance Program, managed by FEMA, has paid more than $69 billion in flood insurance claims since 1973, with half of that total disbursed in the last dozen years. The spike in claims is part of the reason the insurance program is more than $20 billion in debt, the petition says.

Development continues on floodplains, while areas at risk of inundation expand due to sea level rise, the petition says. The problem is particularly in acute in Louisiana, Texas, and in coastal regions of the Northeast.

The group also asks for more help for homeowners seeking to cut flood risks, and for FEMA to require all new or substantially improved buildings in floodplains to be raised above the 100-year flood level.

Related Stories

Codes and Standards | Oct 30, 2017

AIA revises architect scope documents in latest contract form release

Design-bid-build forms last updated in 2007.

Codes and Standards | Oct 26, 2017

Boston’s Old South Church asks tower developer for $19 million for casting shade

Request highlights ongoing conflict between developers and residents over right to sunshine.

Codes and Standards | Oct 24, 2017

Asphalt roofing design guide now available in digital form

Recently updated Modified Bitumen Design Guide can be viewed on smartphones and tablets.

Codes and Standards | Oct 23, 2017

Energy efficiency investments on the rise; will increase next year

Survey of facility management executives shows onsite renewables, energy storage will spike in 2018.

Codes and Standards | Oct 20, 2017

AIA contract document updates include new BIM, digital data provisions

Documents are structurally different from 2007, 2008 versions.

Codes and Standards | Oct 18, 2017

States impacted by hurricanes are improving their energy efficiency policies

Florida, Texas, rise in ACEEE state energy efficiency scorecard.

Codes and Standards | Oct 17, 2017

Updated versions of EnergyPlus and OpenStudio building energy modeling tools released

Open-source apps include enhancements for urban-scale modeling.

Codes and Standards | Oct 16, 2017

New, comprehensive insurance exhibit released in AIA 2017 contract document updates

Will allow AIA to make updates more frequently as insurance market changes.

Codes and Standards | Oct 12, 2017

New AIA contract document designates responsibilities for sustainable projects

Roles of architects, contractors outlined in E204–2017.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021