Sustainability, Resiliency, Floodplain

Category
  • How do I get flood insurance?

    Flood insurance is an important consideration when buying property in or around the floodplain. A person should be aware of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which provides flood insurance coverage for structures and their contents. Go to www.floodsmart.gov to learn how to purchase flood insurance. Flood insurance is mandatory for buildings in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).

  • How do I take steps to protect my family and property?

    To prepare for a flood, you should take the following actions:

    • Create an Emergency Plan
    • Build an Emergency Kit
    • Create a Family Communications Plan
    • Elevate furnaces, hot water heaters, electrical panels, and valuables in your home or business
    • Consider installing backflow prevention devices to prevent flood water from backing up into your drains
    • Know where your nearest evacuation route and emergency shelter are
  • How do I determine if my property is in the regulated floodplain?

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) produces Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) which identify areas that are at risk of flooding. FIRMs include statistical information such as data for river flow, storm tides, hydrologic/hydraulic analyses, and rainfall and topographic surveys. The City of Baltimore Floodplain Managers provide information about Baltimore City's FIRMs such as assistance with determining if a property is located in the Special Flood Hazard Area, what the estimate Base Flood Elevation (BFE) is for a property, and what flood depths may be at that site or you can use Cityview to check your property status.

  • What Plan is guiding Resiliency work in Baltimore?

    The Disaster Preparedness Project and Plan (DP3) is a plan that address existing hazards while simultaneously preparing for predicted impacts due to climate change. This plan integrates hazards mitigation planning, floodplain mapping, and climate adaptation planning to create a comprehensive and new risk-preparedness system for addressing existing and future impacts. The Plan includes a thorough profile of hazards, risk assessment, and modeling and scenarios. It identifies six goals, 50 strategies and 231 actions that will all make Baltimore a more resilient City.

  • What is Resiliency?

    Urban Resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience. Resilient systems withstand, respond to, and adapt more readily to shocks and stresses to emerge stronger after tough times, and live better in good times. The Office of Sustainability, in partnership with other city agencies, is leading efforts to make Baltimore a more resilient city.

  • What does the Office of Sustainability do?

    The Office of Sustainability develops and advocates for programs, policies, and actions by government, citizen, businesses, and institutions that improve the long-term environmental, social, and economic viability of Baltimore City. In addition to overseeing and tracking the implementation of the Baltimore Sustainability Plan, the Office integrates sustainability into City government operations and develops partnerships with organizations on the ground performing related work.

  • What is Sustainability?

    Sustainability is meeting the current environmental, social, and economic needs of our community without compromising the ability of future generations to meet these needs. Basically, "sustainability" means both to improve the quality of life today and to pass on a world that is as good as, if not better than, we found it for our children.