Email us at LEVEE OUTREACH TOOLKIT FROM FEMA
Levees are built to provide a specific level of flood protection. However, recent events have shown how storms can bring floodwaters that exceed that level, causing levees to overtop or fail. The flood losses that occur due to a levee failure can be devastating and have even a greater impact on home and business owners who do not carry flood insurance. It is important for residents living and working near levees to know about their flood risk and their insurance choices.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and FloodSmart have recently created a new Levee Outreach Toolkit that contains materials developed specifically for outreach in communities with levees. The materials in this toolkit provide various audiences, including floodplain managers, with templated, flexible materials to adapt and use in addressing flood risks behind levees and the flood insurance implications of levee status changes, as well as flood risk zones and Special Flood Hazard Areas that are being remapped or revised.
Communication Tips for a Successful Process
The following tips will help ensure that the overall approach to conducting community outreach is on target. Keep these tips in mind to make communications around levee and map changes in your area a smooth - and successful - process.
- Start early. Getting started on outreach efforts as early as possible will allow you to identify and address key issues and obstacles and secure the broad-based support needed prior to the rollout of new maps.
- The media will tell the tale - engage them. Local and regional media outlets have an interest in this issue and will want to know how map and levee changes affect the average citizen. Providing the press with access to good information in advance of the release of new maps will help ensure that they have a solid understanding of the process.
- Reach out to representatives from affected industries. Representatives of the insurance, realty and lending industries will all be affected by the changes that new maps bring. Keeping them updated about developments in the map change and levee review process, getting their feedback on outreach materials and using them to disseminate information to their colleagues are key to a successful communications effort.
- Residents and business owners need clear messages about flood risks - as well as cost-saving options for protection. Providing the public with messages and materials that stress both risks and available cost-saving flood insurance options can make the need or requirement for flood insurance more palatable.
- Make sure you communicate often with all audiences. Open, transparent and repeated communication goes a long way to building consensus and garnering buy-in in your community. Holding open houses or town hall meetings gives residents and business owners an opportunity to raise issues and concerns in a friendly, educational setting.
- Get key decision makers on board. Local elected officials and county board members will ultimately be responsible for adopting ordinances that make new flood maps official and effective throughout the area. If the area around the levees is going through a map change, make sure key officials clearly understand the map change process, insurance implications and overall project benefits.
Please email us at info@femafloodsmart.gov to request a copy of the Levee Outreach Toolkit. Please continue to visit FEMA.gov and FloodSmart.gov for information about map changes, levee status changes and flood insurance.