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Ongoing coverage of South Carolina's recovery from the flooding of 2015.What had been Lindsay Langdale's Columbia home October 3, 2015 was a flooded ruin the next day.This coverage is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In October of 2015, South Carolina received rainfall in unprecedented amounts over just a few days time. By the time the rain began to slacken, the National Weather Service reported that the event had dumped more than two feet of water on the state. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the subsequent flooding was the worst in 75 years.

New N.F.I.P. Regulations and What They Mean for the City of Columbia

Construction workers elevate a house on Lake Katherine in Columbia that was heavily damaged in October’s flood.(File photo)
Tut Underwood/SC Public Radio

Eight months after hurricane Joaquin dumped more than 24 inches of rain on South Carolina, homeowners are still in the process of rebuilding. For homeowners in a flood plain, it means elevating their home or demolishing it. South Carolina Public Radio reached out to Ali Khan, the flood plain manager for the City of Columbia in Richland County, to help explain what new National Flood Insurance Program regulations mean for residents located within the city limits.

Video courtesy of Bruce Guignard. Credit Davis Latham.

  1. Can you explain the new flood plain regulations?
    On June 16, 2015, Council passed an updated floodplain ordinance. The link to the new ordinance can be found in the blue box at www.columbiasc.net/floodplain. In addition, we also created a fact sheet (also in the blue box) that explains the City’s participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), what the ordinance did not change and what the ordinance did change.

    We also created a flood repair myths and facts sheet following the October floods. http://www.columbiasc.net/depts/utilities-engineering/docs/fp/flood-repair-myths-and-facts.pdf

  2. Who are they going to affect? How?
    Anyone building new structures, making significant improvements to existing structures, or who suffered significant damages (significant means greater than 50% of the value of the original structure), will be subject to the new regulations. Details on how these projects will be affected can be found under “What is changing” in the fact sheet.

  3. Will it be expensive to retrofit homes/ elevate homes?
    Elevating a home is a highly specialized retrofit, and if it is not done right, it can damage the structure. Because of that, elevating a home can be a significant investment and will depend on the home itself. How high a home is being elevated, the size of the home, whether or not there is brick or rock on the home that will need to be repaired or replaced following elevation, the condition of the site itself – all of these can add to the cost of elevating a home. Property owners definitely want someone with experience doing their home elevation.

  4. Is there any help being offered?
    The City is looking into a buyout program. See www.columbiasc.net/flood (our post-October flood repair guidance page, different from our floodplain program) for details on the proposed buyout program. We have applied for assistance and are asking property owners to indicate their interest. The program will be contingent on available funding and Property Acquisition Program criteria (see the website), and property owners who have expressed interest are not obligated to participate in the future.

  5. Why is this happening?
    Details on how these projects will be affected by the June 16 ordinance update can be found under, “Why is the City updating its floodplain ordinance” in the fact sheet."

  6. How long has it been in the process?
    The City updated its ordinance on June 16, 2015. The City has been a long-time participant in the NFIP; we would have to look up the exact date, but it has been at least since before 2005.

  7. Is it happening elsewhere?
    Any community that participates in the NFIP is required to update their ordinance as FEMA’s minimum standards for floodplain management change. The City’s participation in NFIP allows its property owners (residents and businesses) to purchase flood insurance. For details on NFIP, visit floodsmart.gov.

  8. When is it all going to happen? Why then?
    City Council passed the new ordinance during its second reading on June 16, 2015. It became effective on that date.

  9. How many homes have been elevated / are in the process of being elevated?
    13 houses are in the process of being elevated in the City of Columbia as a direct result of the October 2015 flood.

  10. What have people’s response been?
    Our neighbors who were really hit by the flood are dealing with a lot. Not only were their homes damaged, but in many cases they lost a lifetime’s worth of mementos that you just can’t get back. Our hearts go out to them as they have been picking up the pieces following the devastation, and we have done everything we can to help them through the rebuilding process.

    We had several community meetings where we went out into the communities impacted by the flood to explain the floodplain permitting process and help explain what information they would need to start to rebuild. We have met with them one-on-one to help them work through their options and provide what information the City had that would help them in their FEMA and insurance claims. And we continue to work with anyone looking to explore their rebuilding options or to explain the proposed buy-out program.

    We know nothing is going to get them back to exactly where they were before the flood, but we want to make any City requirements as easy as possible to understand and help them in pulling together the information they might need.

  11. What is the difference in cost of repair versus cost of elevating? Figure?
    I think you are referring to Increased Cost of Compliance. FEMAs FloodSmart website explains it here: https://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pages/faqs/what-is-increased-cost-of-compliance-coverage.jsp

  12. If a home suffers significant damage or requires significant repairs, it is no longer grandfathered under previous floodplain building codes. In order to repair the building, the home owner would need to bring it up to the current code’s requirements. In some cases, flood insurance can cover all or a portion of these costs. (See link above).

  13. What is the criteria that would require someone elevate his/her house?
    Anyone making significant improvements to existing structures or who suffered significant damages (significant means greater than 50% of the value of the original structure) would need their first finished floor to be at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation. In some cases this can be accomplished by abandoning a finished basement. In others, this would require a home be elevated.

  14. Anything else?
    Any property owner with questions about the City’s floodplain program and how it affects them can always contact our Floodplain Manager, Ali Khan, at 545-3400 or lakhan@columbiasc.net.

Vince Kolb-Lugo received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Spanish from Florida State University, where he worked at WVFS, Tallahassee. He has traveled to Europe, Africa, South America, and stepped foot in Asia. Vince lived, worked, and traveled throughout Spain for a couple of years before moving back to the states.