LTC 364-2021 FEMA PRELIMINARY FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAPS AND RISK RATING 2.0 (UPDATE #2)
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC # 364-2021
LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Honorable Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
DATE: 9/02/2021
SUBJECT: FEMA PRELIMINARY FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAPS AND RISK RATING 2.0
(UPDATE #2)
Understanding flood risk and the cost of insurance are both significant priorities for Miami
Beach as a coastal barrier island. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
is in the process of:
• Updating FEMA Flood Maps that may result in changes in the flood zone and
base flood elevation for property owners. FEMA is in the post-processing stage
of updating these maps and they are not yet effective. Property owners are
encouraged to review the map changes through the resources included below;
and
• Changing how the National Flood Insurance Program prices the cost of flood
insurance through a process called Risk Rating 2.0. Policy holders are
encouraged to contact their flood insurance agent to understand how the new
pricing approach may affect them. Miami Beach’s participation in the Community
Rating System provides most policy holders a 25% discount that totals $8.6
million in savings annually. This helps offset increasing federal rates.
FEMA Flood Maps
FEMA recently conducted a new coastal flood study in Miami-Dade County, using more
advanced modeling methods to update the Flood Maps. The maps are not yet effective
and may change as FEMA addresses comments by stakeholders. A Miami Beach
summary is included in Attachment A.
Property owners are encouraged to review the preliminary changes in the following ways:
1. Schedule an appointment with the City’s Floodplain Manager through the
Building Department’s online appointment system (https://wb-
miamibeachfl.qmatic.cloud/qmaticwebbooking/#/)
2. Access Miami-Dade County’s Flood Zone Maps which has added a preliminary
flood maps tab.
a. Flood Zone Maps - Miami-Dade County (miamidade.gov)
https://www.miamidade.gov/environment/flood-maps.asp
b. Miami-Dade County has a flood zone hotline 305-372-6466
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3. Utilize FEMA’s sources to access the maps:
o FEMA Map Service Center (https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home)
o Flood Map Changes Viewer (arcgis.com)
(https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=e7a7dc3ebd7
f4ad39bb8e485bb64ce44)
o Instructions on how to use the FEMA website is available on the City’s
website: https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/building/local-flood-
hazard-info/.
Flood Map Outreach
Efforts to communicate this information to property owners include:
• The City’s FEMA Community Rating System Program for Public Information (PPI)
Committee discussed outreach and communication strategies related to the FIRM
Maps. At the meeting, FEMA Senior Engineer Mark Vieira presented to the
Committee.
• The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Resiliency and Sustainability Task
Force
• The City’s e-newsletter and an informational spread in the fall issue of MB
Magazine.
• City website updates.
FEMA’s next steps include:
• Communities in Miami-Dade County will have a 90-day appeal and comment
period (date has not yet been identified, this will be published in the Federal
Register and published in the local newspapers);
• FEMA will resolve appeals and finalize map products;
• Municipalities will have a six-month compliance period to adopt the new maps
into floodplain ordinances; and
• Maps become effective.
National Flood Insurance Program Risk Rating 2.0
FEMA is also changing the way the National Flood Insurance Program prices insurance
to reflect risk more accurately. The new approach is referred to as Risk Rating 2.0. A
Miami Beach policy holder summary is included in Attachment B.
Current National Flood Insurance Program policyholders are encouraged to contact
their insurance company or insurance agent to learn more. Starting Oct. 1, 2021, new
policies will be subject to the new rating methodology. At this time, existing policyholders
eligible for renewal will be able to take advantage of immediate decreases in their
premiums. All remaining policies renewing on or after April 1, 2022, will be subject to the
new rating methodology. More information about Risk Rating 2.0 is located on the
following website: https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/risk-rating.
For any questions or comments, please contact me or Amy Knowles, Chief Resilience
Officer at amyknowles@miamibeachfl.gov.
ATH/EC/ALK/AS
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Attachment A
Highlights of the Preliminary Flood Map Changes for Miami Beach
Within the current Flood Maps, 97% of the City is within flood zones requiring insurance
for federally backed mortgages, with 3% in the X zone not requiring insurance.
Under the Preliminary Flood Maps, 87% of the City is within a flood zone, with 13% in the
X zone not requiring insurance. Note that flood insurance is encouraged for all residents
and businesses due to being near flood zones.
Zone AE
93%
Zone VE
2%
Zone X
3%Zone 0.2 pct
2%
Current Flood Zones
Zone AE
82%
Zone VE
5%
Zone X
13%
Zone AO
0%
Proposed Flood Zones
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Base Flood Elevation Change Summary
Base Flood Elevation (BFE) is the elevation of surface water resulting from a flood that
has a 1% chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year. BFE is important
for construction, plan reviews and inspections that must meet FEMA compliance,
Floodplain Management Regulations and Florida Building Code. Building higher than
BFE, referred to as “freeboard” is required and encouraged. The City’s ordinances (2016-
4009 and 2016-4010) for a higher freeboard and grade elevations were a positive move
that may save policy holders on premiums and avoided risk.
High level analysis of the changes include:
• 51.8% of properties will see no change (16.5%) or a decrease in the base flood
elevation (35.5%).
• 48.2% of properties will have an increase in base flood elevation, note that 43.6%
will see base flood elevation increases of less than one-foot.
It is important to note that the preliminary flood maps use a different datum. While the
2009 Flood Maps utilize NGVD29, the new preliminary flood maps utilize NAVD88.
This datum change is a change in the starting point for measuring elevations. When
property owners examine changes in in the proposed maps for Base Flood Elevation, they
will also need to make the FEMA specified Miami-Dade conversion. The Miami Beach
conversion is: NAVD88= NGVD29 – 1.56. Users may also utilize online conversion
calculators.
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Attachment B
National Flood Insurance Program Risk Rating 2.0
FEMA is also changing the way the National Flood Insurance Program prices insurance
to reflect risk more accurately. The new approach is referred to as Risk Rating 2.0.
Current National Flood Insurance Program policyholders are encouraged to contact
their insurance company or insurance agent to learn more. Starting Oct. 1, 2021, new
policies will be subject to the new rating methodology. At this time, existing policyholders
eligible for renewal will be able to take advantage of immediate decreases in their
premiums. All remaining policies renewing on or after April 1, 2022, will be subject to the
new rating methodology. More information about Risk Rating 2.0 is located on the
following website: https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/risk-rating.
Based on publicly available FEMA data, the following chart highlights estimated changes
for policies within City of Miami Beach zip codes. The changes are similar to the statewide
estimates. Annual increases are capped at 18%.
.
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_florida-state-profile_03-2021.pdf
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