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Flood Zones and Flood Mitigation

Flooding is the #1 natural disaster in the United States according to FEMA. FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) offer several grant programs through the State of Florida for which eligible homeowners and businesses may qualify to help with mitigation activities.

Want to know if you are in a flood zone? Visit the Duval County GIS Page and click on Duval Property and type in your address. 

Please contact Emergency Preparedness at 904-255-3110 for more information or assistance determining your flood zone. Please keep in mind that your Flood Zone and your Hurricane Evacuation Zone are two separate designations. 

Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMA)

The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program was created as part of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 4101) with the goal of reducing or eliminating claims under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Funding for the program is provided through the NFIP. The FMA program provides funding to assist States and communities in implementing measures to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk of flood damage to buildings, manufactured homes, and other structures insurable under the NFIP. To be eligible to apply for FMA grants, a community must both participate and be in good standing in the NFIP, as well as have an approved Hazard Mitigation Plan, such as the Duval County Local Mitigation Strategy. The Hazard Mitigation Plan must include mitigation actions that support the proposed project. Additionally, a letter of support from the county emergency management agency director is needed for each application.

FMA's overall goal is "to fund cost-effective measures that reduce or eliminate the long-term risk of damage to buildings, manufactured homes, and other NFIP-insurable structures."

Eligible activities for the FMA Grant Program include:

  • Property Acquisition and Structure Demolition or Relocation
  • Structure Elevation
  • Dry Flood-Proofing
  • Minor Localized Flood Reduction Projects
  • Hazard Mitigation Planning (Flood Portion)
  • Non-structural Retrofitting of Existing Buildings and Facilities
  • Management Costs

States and communities are encouraged by FEMA to prioritize FMA project grant applications that include Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) Properties. All projects must demonstrate cost-effectiveness.

The NFIP defines SRL properties as structures that meet one of the following qualifiers:

  • Received four or more separate claim payments of more than $5,000 each (including building and contents payments)
  • Received two or more separate claim payments (building payments only) where the total of the payments exceeds the current value of the property

FMA guidance defines SRL properties as structures covered by a contract for flood insurance made available under the NFIP that has incurred flood related damage and meet one of the following qualifiers:

  • Four or more separate claims payments (includes building and contents) have been made under flood insurance coverage with the amount of each such claim exceeding $5,000, and with the cumulative amount of such claims payments exceeding $20,000
  • At least two separate claims payments (includes only building) have been made under such coverage, with the cumulative amount of such claims exceeding the market value of the insured structure.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) defines Repetitive Loss (RL) properties as structures that meet one of the following qualifiers:

  • Two or more claims of more than $1,000 paid by NFIP within any rolling 10-year period, since 1978
  • Two or more claims (building payments only) that, on average, equal or exceed 25 percent of the market value of the property

The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program defines RL properties as structures covered by a contract for flood insurance made available under the NFIP that meet the following two qualifiers:

  • Has incurred flood-related damage on two occasions, in which the cost of the repair, on average, equaled or exceeded 25 percent of the market value of the structure at the time of each such flood event
  • At the time of the second incidence of flood-related damage, the contract for flood insurance contains increased cost of compliance coverage

Project Funding

Cost share availability under the FMA Grant program depends on the type of properties included in the grant. Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) Properties may receive up to 100 percent federal funding and Repetitive Loss (RL) Properties may receive up to 90 percent federal funding. Insured properties not meeting RL or SRL criteria may receive up to 75 percent of the eligible cost of activities. The non-federal share may be met with cash, contributions, certain other grants such as Community Development Block Grants, Increased Cost of Compliance flood insurance payments, or in-kind services.