National Flood Insurance Program

Town of Orchid is a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) community. It's important to be aware that areas in the Town of Orchid fall into the Special Flood Hazard Area and that most homeowner's insurance does not cover flood damage. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provides flood insurance through a network of more than 50 insurance companies. Flood insurance is offered under a separate policy that can cover buildings, the contents in a building, or both.

To purchase flood insurance, call your insurance company or agent, or find a provider online or by calling (877) 336-2627.

Plan ahead, as there is typically a 30-day waiting period for a new policy to go into effect, unless the coverage is mandated and purchased as required by a federally backed lender or is related to a community flood map change.

Floodplain Management Regulations

Flood insurance through the NFIP is available to anyone living in one of 23,000 participating communities, of which the Town of Orchid is one. NFIP communities are required to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations that help mitigate flooding effects. The Town's Code of Ordinances includes a chapter dedicated to Floodplain Management Regulations, which has been approved by the Office of Floodplain Management of the Florida Division of Emergency Management on behalf of FEMA. 

In this state, the Florida Building Code works in tandem with NFIP requirements. All new buildings to be constructed in Special Flood Hazard Areas (regulated floodplains) are required to have their lowest floors elevated to at least one foot above the base flood elevation (BFE). Equipment, such as HVAC and generators, must also be elevated to or above BFE. 

Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Elevation Certificates

It's important for property owners to know the flood hazard zone(s) ascribed to all or parts of their property. Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) are how this is determined. At the bottom of this page is a link to Indian River County's Flood Zone Map, which provides color coded information for our entire county. The map can be navigated wholistically or can directly hone in on a specific address. FEMA most recently updated the data effective as of January 26, 2023. 

Special Flood Hazard Areas on these maps are defined as those that will be inundated by a flood event having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year, also referred to as the base flood or 100-year flood. These areas are labeled as Zones A, AO, AH, A1-A30, AE, A99, AR, AR/AE, AR/AO, AR/A1-A30, AR/A, V, VE, and V1-V30.

Moderate flood hazard areas, labeled Zone B or Zone X (shaded) are also shown, and are the areas between the limits of the base flood and the 0.2-percent-annual-chance (or 500-year) flood. The areas of minimal flood hazard, which are higher than the elevation of the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood, are labeled Zone C or Zone X (unshaded). The most common zones developed in Orchid (community 120122) are Zone AE and Zones X (both types). Please note that there is a risk of flooding in any of these zones, but the degrees of flood hazard are estimated to be different and the cost of flood insurance differ accordingly. 

The Building Official will additionally rely on information from signed and sealed Elevation Certificates to determine whether a building is in compliance with the requirements of the NFIP and the Florida Building Code. Such certificates can be helpful to provide to your insurance agent as well, as he/she determines the flood insurance rates for your property. 

Letters of Map Change

FEMA can issue a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) which reflects an official change to a specific property on an effective FIRM. Requests of FEMA for a LOMC to revise or amend an effective flood map can be made by mail or online, if a property was inadvertently included in a flood zone or if the addition of fill elevated your property so that it is above the flood zone.

In January 2023, FEMA issued notification to the Town regarding previous Letters of Map Change for properties and/or structures in Orchid that were revalidated following amendment of the FIRM maps effective as of that same month and year. The notification has been published online by FEMA. To find a digital copy of the original LOMC for a property, search by case number including all the dashes and ending with the Town's community number (120122). 

Substantial Improvement and Substantial Damage

Floodplain regulations specify that when substantial improvement of existing buildings is undertaken in an AE zone, then the structure must be brought into compliance with the current requirements for new construction in that zone. This is also true for buildings in the same zone that have sustained substantial damage by any cause, including fire, flood, high wind, etc. If the building is in an X zone, then the following does not apply to that building. 

• Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
• Substantial improvement means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the ”start of construction’’ of the improvement. This term includes structures that have incurred “substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either:
  • Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications that have been identified by the local Building Official and that are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
  • Any alteration of a “historic structure," provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a “historic structure."

To make a determination of applicability, the cost of the proposed improvement or repairs must be compared to the market value of the building (excluding land, accessory structures, and landscaping). If the resulting ratio equals or exceeds 50 percent, the existing building must be brought into compliance with the floodplain management requirements for new buildings. In Orchid, market value is defined as the actual cash value (in-kind replacement cost depreciated for age, wear and tear, neglect, and quality of construction) determined by a qualified independent appraiser, or the most recently certified and published improvement value adjusted to 115% which is the factor provided by the Indian River County property appraiser. The published improvement value can be found on the Property Appraiser's website for each property in Indian River County.

All permit applications must include information regarding at least an estimate of the cost to perform the proposed improvements or repairs. If the building has been damaged, the cost estimate must include all work required to repair the building to its pre-damage condition. The cost estimate must include all labor and materials. If the work will be done by a contractor, the contractor’s overhead and profit must be included. If the work will be done by the owner or volunteers, market rates must be used to estimate the cost of materials and the value of labor.

The Town of Orchid can furnish you with a full list of costs to include and costs that may be excluded from the estimate. 

It's important to note that work on a property may not be phased to skirt the above requirements of the NFIP. Work that is split over multiple simultaneous or consecutive permits shall be evaluated together for the purpose of determining whether a substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage is being undertaken. Revisions to existing permits that add value to the work shall also be cause for the Building Official to re-determine whether a substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage is now being undertaken. 

If the Building Official determines that improvements or repairs to a building constitute substantial improvement or repair of substantial damage, then the building must be brought into compliance with the NFIP floodplain requirements for new construction in Special Flood Hazard Areas. FEMA publishes a detailed guide about retrofitting methods for homeowners. It's important to be aware that dry floodproofing and levees/flood walls are not permitted to be used to retrofit existing residential structures in a case of substantial improvement/substantial damage. Wet floodproofing is only permitted for uninhabited areas of a home (such as the garage).

The purpose of this process is to increase the resilience of vulnerable buildings within those areas in NFIP communities.