Background

The North Carolina Flood Mapping Program (NCFMP), in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), is in the process of updating the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) in Guilford County. You may be more familiar with these maps being referred to as flood maps, flood inundation maps or floodplain maps. The FIRMs show studied areas that are at risk of flooding during large rainfall events including the 1% Annual Chance Flood Hazard Area (a.k.a. 100-year Floodplain) and the 0.2% Annual Chance Flood Hazard Area (a.k.a. 500-year Floodplain). Most of the currently effective flood maps in Guilford County were last updated in 2007. The National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 requires FEMA to periodically assess the need to revise and update floodplain areas and flood hazard zones. Preliminary FIRMs for Guilford County were published by the NCFMP in October 2022 and are available for viewing at the links provided further below.

Why do Floodplains Change?

As flood modeling and mapping technology improve and better data becomes available, FEMA and NCFMP use this information to create more accurate flood maps. The physical conditions of streams change over time because of erosion, siltation and other natural and manmade forces. LiDAR technology used to gathers topographic contour data has improved over the years providing better elevation information for streams and floodplains. Sometimes new topographic survey of streams and floodplain areas may become available. Urbanization adds impervious area resulting in increased stormwater runoff and higher flow rates in streams for a given storm event. More intense storm events have been occurring more frequently as well. These and other factors are some of the reasons the mapped floodplain extents and base flood elevations (100-year Flood Elevation) can change over time.

How does this affect me?

Some areas will have reduced floodplain extents while other areas will have increased floodplain extents. Some buildings currently in the floodplain will be removed from the floodplain, while some other buildings outside of the floodplain will be added to the floodplain when the preliminary flood maps become effective and are adopted by the community as required by FEMA.

If your property has increased floodplain extents and an insurable structure on your property (e.g. home or place of business) is now in or partially in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA a.k.a. 1% Annual Chance Flood Hazard Area a.k.a. 100-year Floodplain), then you may have to purchase flood insurance. If the building in the SFHA has a federally backed mortgage, then federal law requires the owner of the building to have flood insurance. After FEMA issues their Letter of Final Determination regarding the use of the new flood maps, your mortgage lender will reach out to you with information on the requirement for flood insurance and the timeframe in which it must be purchased.

If the building is removed from the SFHA, then it maybe possible to drop your flood insurance, though this is not recommended, and a mortgage lender has the option to require flood insurance even if the building is outside of the SFHA. It should be noted that flooding can occur anywhere and may exceed the modeled floodplain limits, so property owners should always consider purchasing flood insurance whether their home is in an SFHA or not.

FEMA NFIP Map Changes & Flood Insurance: What property owners need to know.

FEMA Flood Hazard Mapping Updates Overview

View Preliminary Flood Maps

You can view the effective (current) and preliminary flood maps at the NC Flood Risk Information System (FRIS) website.

Enter or zoom to your address on FRIS. This will show the effective map. To view the preliminary map click the button in the top right corner that says “Effective”, and change the selection to “Preliminary”. This will change the flood map and information to the preliminary map. You can also see the differences between the effective and preliminary maps by keeping the selection on “Preliminary” and clicking the Layers / Map Contents menu in the upper left corner and turning on the check boxes for “Changes Since Last FIRM Floodway” and “Changes Since Last FIRM SFHA”.

The incredible Flood Risk Information System (FRIS) – A guide to FRIS

Guilford County created a Dual Map Viewer that shows both the effective and preliminary floodplain areas side-by-side. The FRIS website has more detailed flood info comparatively, but this Dual Map Viewer includes approximate lot lines / property lines and has layer options to turn on jurisdictional boundaries (City Limits Boundaries and ETJs) which can be helpful to better understand if a floodplain exist on your property and which jurisdiction you should contact for questions.

Guilford County's GIS Data Viewer only shows the effective maps. The updated maps will be added to the GIS Data Viewer when they become effective and are adopted by Guilford County.

Appeals & Comments

FEMA will determine the start date for a 90-day Appeals & Comment Period for which the communities of Guilford County and property owners may appeal or comment on the new flood maps and base flood elevations.

Appeals:  An appeal is a formal challenge to new or revised base flood elevations, the addition or modification of a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) boundary or flood zone designation, or the addition or modification of any regulatory floodway in the preliminary Flood Insurance Study (FIS) or Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). An appeal must be based on scientific and technically sound data that demonstrates the proposed preliminary base flood elevation, SFHA boundary or flood zone designation, or floodway boundary is scientifically or technically incorrect. The petition to appeal must be made during the 90-day Appeal Period in order to be considered. Property owners that wish to appeal must submit their petition and supporting data to their local community CEO or Floodplain Administrator who must then forward the appeal petition and data to NCFMP and FEMA with a statement as to whether the community supports the petition.

Comments:  A formal comment is an objection to a base map feature change or any non-appealable change. It is a formal objection to the preliminary FIS Report and/or information shown on the preliminary FIRM (flood map) that is not related to base flood elevations or modified SFHA designations. Comments generally involve mislabeled maps such as incorrect corporate limits, Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) boundaries, road names or locations, as well as any other possible omissions or potential improvements to the mapping. Comments must be filed during the 90-day Appeal Period and the comment petition must include supporting documentation that is more recent and accurate compared to the FIRM. Comments requesting corrections to map features must be marked-up on the preliminary flood map and/or a written summary provided explaining the requested changes / corrections. The comment petition and supporting documentation must be provided to the local community CEO or Floodplain Administrator who must then forward the petition to NCFMP and FEMA with a statement as to whether the community supports the petition.

Petitions for appeals and comments will be reviewed by NCFMP and FEMA, who will then respond to the community and appellant with their decision or request for additional information. If warranted, NCFMP will revise the preliminary FIRM and/or FIS to reflect the information submitted in support of the appeal or comment and will provide copies of the materials with the appeal or comment resolution letter.

Please note that due to map scale limitations, requests which involve individual lots or structures believed to be incorrectly shown within the SFHA on the preliminary FIRM typically cannot be resolved through the appeal process. However, individual homeowners may submit mapping and survey information to FEMA to request a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) which officially removes a property or structure from the SFHA. This process typically takes 30 to 60 days and no fee is required. Additional information on the LOMA process is available through FEMA’s website at https://www.fema.gov/letter-map-amendment-letter-map-revision-based-fill-process.

 Additional Information on Appeals & Comments process:

• Appeals & Comments Fact Sheet – Sept. 2014
• Expanded Appeals Process Fact Sheet – Oct. 2013
• Appeal Petition Form
• Comment Petition Form

Schedule for Preliminary Flood Map Update

Flood Insurance

Changes to the flood maps may impact your need to obtain flood insurance or may result in an insurance premium rate change. Feel free to discuss flood insurance decisions or rate changes with your insurance company or insurance agent.

Anyone can obtain flood insurance, even for buildings outside of a regulated floodplain. With NFIP’s updated Risk Rating 2.0 insurance pricing system, FEMA has the capability and tools to address flood rating disparities by incorporating more flood risk variables. These variables include elevation of the building compared to the base flood elevation, flood frequency, flood types, proximity to a flooding source, potential cost for repairs, and other property and floodplain characteristics.

FEMA Fact Sheet – Why Buy Flood Insurance

FEMA Fact Sheet – Understanding Risk Rating 2.0:  Equity in Action

Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action | FEMA.gov

Find a Flood Insurance Provider

Contact Information

For questions regarding the preliminary flood maps, please contact your local floodplain official for the jurisdiction where your property of interest is located by going to Contact Information.

You may also contact NCFMP at 919-715-5711