Tips for Reducing Flood Risk
Flood Zone Correction, Inc. provides these tips
to help you decrease flood risk on your property.
Keep Storm Drains Clear
To mitigate the risk of flooding, it is imperative that
property owners keep storm drains clear. Landscaping debris, such as
leaves, branches, grass clippings, and other materials can clog storm
drains that keep your home or building safe from floodwaters. When the
drains clog or materials block the flow of water into the drains, water
has nowhere to go but up, resulting in street, lawn and possible home or
building flooding. Property owners should regularly check storm drains on
and near their properties to make sure they are clear. The path of water
to storm drains should also be checked to make sure that water is free to
flow into the drains. Homeowner associations, condominium associations and commercial
property owners can enter into a maintenance contract with a qualified vendor that will regularly
check and clear the storm drains. In addition to regularly scheduled intervals, property owners
should check and clear storm drains before and after storm activity. Failure to keep storm drains
clear can result in flooding to homes and buildings that were built responsibly to protect against flooding.
Landscaping
On a property designed to mitigate flood risk, the land slopes downhill
away from the structure. This helps water flow to areas on the property
where it may reside until taken away by the drainage system, absorbed
by the soil or evaporates over time. The goal is to not allow water to
pond up next to the structure or to flow into the structure, where the
water would cause damage. Therefore, when landscaping your property,
make sure you don't alter the land in a way that would cause water to
pond up next to the structure or flow water into the structure. For example,
to create privacy, use eureka palm trees, ficus hedge or other greenery
to create privacy instead of building a berm. A berm is a small area
of raised ground. Creating a berm increases flood risk by allowing water
to generate velocity running down the berm towards the structure, while
greenery can be planted in a way to allow water to pond up at the base of
the plants or flow past the plants to the lowest part of the
property and away from the structure.
Home Additions
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and local
building officials work hard to create building codes that reduce the risk
of flood damage. Before adding onto your home, you, your architect,
engineer or contractor should meet with local officials to ensure that
your proposed addition will be safe from flooding. For example, if your
home is post and beam construction (commonly referred to as on stilts),
don't convert the open area underneath the living area into additional
living area without checking with your local building officials. Most
likely, the area beneath your living area is open to allow water to pond
up or flow. If you convert the open area to living space, you may block
the flow of water to create a risk of damaging the entire structure or
create a risk of the new living area filling up with water during heavy
rain storms.
Building a Custom Home
When building a custom home, you have great flexibility to design the
home exactly how you want it. Be sure that your unique design meets the
local building codes and floodplain ordinances, so that your investment
is safe from flooding. There are many different types of construction
from which to choose and each will provide a distinctly different look
and feel. Every type of construction can be flood safe if you consider
flood risk from the onset.
