Floodplain and Flood Insurance Information
Floodplain and Flood Insurance Information
Millersburg participates in the National Flood Insurance Program
Floods can happen anywhere — just one inch of floodwater inside a home can cause more than $25,000 in damage. Most homeowners’ insurance does not cover flood damage. Flood insurance is normally a separate policy that can cover buildings, the contents in a building, or both, and it is needed to protect important financial assets: your home, your business, your possessions.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and individual flood insurance policies are typically delivered to the public through a network of approximately 60 private insurance companies. Most home insurance companies sell flood insurance as a separate policy.
The NFIP was created by the United States Congress in 1968 to mitigate future flood losses nationwide through sound, community-enforced building and zoning ordinances, and to provide access to affordable, federally-backed flood insurance protection for property owners.
The NFIP provides flood insurance to property owners, renters, and businesses, and having this coverage helps them recover faster when floodwaters recede. Communities which participate in the NFIP, like the City of Millersburg, are required to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations that help mitigate flooding effects and prevent future losses.
If a community doesn’t participate in the NFIP, federally-backed flood insurance for property owners is not available and the community is ineligible for disaster assistance especially for properties that should have otherwise been insured.
What is a 100-year flood and what is a floodplain?
The term "100-year flood" is misleading. It is not simply a big flood that will occur once every 100 years. Rather, it is the flood level that has a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded each year, based on a statistical analysis of streamflow records and rainfall events for a specific location (like a river basin or creek watershed).
The 100-year flood is used by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as the standard for local floodplain management and to determine the need for mandatory flood insurance purchase. The 100-year flood event, base flood, and 1% annual-chance flood are terms that all mean the same thing: a statistically-determined storm flow within a watershed used as a hazard benchmark.
The 100-year floodplain corresponds to the area inundated by a 100-year flood event as determined by hydraulic modeling and topographic mapping. The results are reflected on the NFIP maps that become official after a lengthy adoption process with public notice and input. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also uses the term Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) for land that is inundated by the 100-year flood.
A 100-year flood or greater could occur more than once in a relatively short period of time. Because it is partially based on past flood history and rainfall records, this flood level designation can vary over time. Additionally, flooding can quickly become worse after a wildfire or as land development removes trees and creates more impervious surfaces in a watershed.
When is flood insurance required?
Homes and businesses that are located within FEMA’s mapped high-risk flood areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required to have flood insurance. To get federally-backed financing to buy, build, or improve structures within a FEMA-mapped 100-year floodplain, a property owner is required to purchase flood insurance as a condition of the loan.
In other words, lending institutions like banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies that are federally-insured must determine if a structure is located in a floodplain. If a building is in floodplain, the lender must provide written notice requiring flood insurance and obtain verification that a flood insurance policy is in place for the building. This requirement runs for the life of the loan.
Is my property in a FEMA-mapped Floodplain?
To see the latest approved FEMA maps, visit the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and enter your address in the search bar.
You can also contact City staff either by email or phone at (458) 233-6300.
Do you have to be located in a floodplain to obtain flood insurance?
No.
Flood insurance is available to anyone owning property in one of the 23,000 participating NFIP communities nationwide like Millersburg. All areas in Millersburg both inside and outside of the mapped 100-year floodplain are potentially vulnerable to flooding. Large rainfall events impact nearly every property and can possibly cause severe damage.
If you are outside of a mapped floodplain, does it make sense to purchase flood insurance?
Yes, in many situations. Properties outside of the FEMA-mapped floodplains in the Millersburg area could potentially see losses in significant flood events. This would be highly unusual compared to the national statistics where approximately 75% of all flood damage occurs to buildings within FEMA-mapped floodplains. These facts show that damaging floods can occur anywhere and not just in a floodplain mapped as high-risk area.
Therefore, having flood insurance in a “lower-risk” area as determined by the official FEMA maps could be a smart purchase. This is true for homes that have basements subject to flooding from localized groundwater conditions typical in the Willamette Valley.
My property is in a mapped FEMA floodplain, but it has never flooded. Why?
The flood hazards shown on the official FEMA maps are based on the best information and analysis tools available at the time when the maps were prepared. Because of the infrequent occurrence of large flood events, especially here in Oregon, floodplain maps are prepared using many factors besides past flooding occurrences at one location. The fact that a damaging flood hasn't occurred within memory doesn't mean a big one won't happen soon.
Why can't I just build a flood wall around my property?
Private flood walls, flow-diversion berms, and levees are generally prohibited by Millersburg Code and Oregon drainage law. The reason they are normally not allowed is because such barriers alter flow direction, displace water storage, and can cause measurable adverse impacts to neighboring properties.
However, a house could and should be built higher, to elevate the structure up out of the flood zone.
How can my property be removed from a floodplain as shown on the FEMA floodplain maps?
To be removed from a floodplain (special flood hazard area) shown on a FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), a structure must be on land that is not subject to flooding by the 100-year flood, or Base Flood Elevation. If your lot or building site is on natural ground that is higher than the Base Flood Elevation shown on the FIRM (FEMA Map), you may request a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) from FEMA. To support the request, you will have to hire a professional land surveyor or professional engineer to determine the exact elevation of the ground next to your building and prepare an Elevation Certificate (per FEMA-standard) and submit a LOMA application to FEMA. If the lowest ground surface is higher than the Base Flood Elevation, then FEMA will issue a LOMA.
With a successful LOMA, your lender may choose to not require flood insurance. In many cases, however, a lender may still require flood insurance for a home even though the federal-mandatory purchase requirement does not apply for homes outside a mapped FEMA floodplain. In other words, it is the decision of the lender if flood insurance is required for a particular property, whether or not it is mandated by the federal government.
How can you best prepare for flooding?
The City of Millersburg participates in the Linn County Emergency Management Program which has flood preparedness information.
How can I purchase flood insurance?
To purchase flood insurance, contact an insurance company or your insurance agent (the same person who sells home or auto insurance). For assistance in locating an insurance provider, please visit Flood Smart, or contact the NFIP by either phone at 877-336-2627 or email.
Starting April 1, 2022, NFIP policies that are bought or renewed will all be rated on a new system, Risk Rating 2.0. This system is designed to be more equitable and easier to administer and incorporates additional flood risk variables to better reflect a property’s individual attributes, including elevation and the actual cost to rebuild.
