47.5 MB - The Whole Building Design Guide

Damaged buildings that are in a mappedfloodplain and insured by NFIP may haveaccess to an insurance payment to helpcover the cost of mitigation, provided thedamage caused by flooding is determinedto be “substantial damage.” A buildingis substantially damaged when the valueof the work required to repair it to its predamagedcondition equals or exceeds50 percent of the market value of thebuilding. In these cases, increased costof compliance coverage in NFIP floodinsurance policies provides to ownersup to $30,000 to bring the building intocompliance with floodplain managementrequirements. This payment may be usedas part of the non-federal match of grantfundedmitigation projects designed toaddress flood hazards.Section 406 provides FEMA with the authorityto fund mitigation measures in conjunctionwith the repair of damaged facilities involvingpermanent restorative work (CategoriesC, D, E, F, and G projects). The mitigationmeasures must be related to the eligible disasterdamages and must directly reduce thepotential of future, similar damages to the eligiblefacility. In providing this discretionaryauthority, Congress recognized that the postdisasterperiod offers unique opportunitiesto prevent the recurrence of similar damagein future disasters. These measures are additionalto any other measures undertaken forthe purpose of compliance with applicablecodes and standards, although such compliance,itself, could be considered a form ofmitigation. The following are examples of thetypes of mitigation required for compliancewith building codes that are eligible underSection 406:m Improved building materials such as impact-resistant windowsor flood-resistant materialsm Anchoring of rooftop equipmentm Improved installation methods or techniquesm New or higher elevation (for flood-prone facilities)Owners of eligible public facilities often wish to repair and restorea damaged facility in ways that exceed the current buildingcode requirements, in order to further reduce or eliminate futuredamage. Where it can be demonstrated that doing so is cost-effective,the added costs of such actions are eligible under FEMAPolicy 9526.1 governing the implementation of the Section 406program. Unfortunately, this approach rarely meets all the identifiedmitigation needs, because the funding can be used only forthe damaged elements—mitigation of vulnerable but undamagedelements is not allowed. For example, a police station with somedamaged windows can use Section 406 funds to replace the dam-C-6 FEMA Mitigation Programs