The Official Website Of The
Mon-Thur: 7.00 am - 4.30 pm, Fri: 7:00 am - 11:00 am

Pay Online

Flood Management

  • Kansas Dept of Agriculture
  • Kansas Current Effective Floodplain
  • FEMA Information
  • Red Cross Information
  • Flood Damage Management

Flood Management

The City of Riley is participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide home owners, renters and businesses in participating community’s access to affordable, federally backed Flood insurance.

As part of our participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, the city has adopted a floodplain management ordinance to reduce future flood risks to new construction in the Special Flood Hazard areas (SFHAs). The benefit of this program, for those in the Floodplain, may be access to federally backed flood insurance or reduced costs of their insurance.

The goal of this program is not only to provide access to flood insurance, but to educate the public about the dangers of flooding to reduce the risk of loss of life and damage to property. To accomplish this goal, the city is making multiple forms of information available to the public. There will be notices placed on the city’s webpage regarding flood safety throughout the year; FEMA publications on flood management are available at the library, Links for flood safety and management are here on the city’s webpage. The city’s downloadable Flood Map and Floodplain Management Ordinance and Flood Hazard Area Map links are below.

Flood Safety

There are 7 types of flooding; Flash Flooding, River Flooding, Burn Scar/Debris Flows, Snowmelt, Dry Wash and Dam/Levee Failures.

Many of these types of flooding may occur quite rapidly and without warning. Flash Flooding may occur in dry areas away from and up to 6 hours after the causative event (i.e., sudden downpour, Dam Failure, Ice Jam). This and other types of flooding may rapidly inundate areas with fast moving water which is particularly dangerous. It only takes 6 inches of water to knock a person off their feet and carry them away. That amount of water can reach the bottom of most cars causing loss of control. A foot of fast moving water may carry away most vehicles. There are many dangers that can be hidden by flood waters such as sharp objects, washed out culverts and roads, electric wires and other debris.

This is why it is most important not to enter flood waters either on foot or by car and heed the warning “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.” More people are killed by flood waters than all other types of severe weather. Remain aware of weather conditions by listening to local tv and radio stations along with NOAA weather radio stations. Evacuate immediately when water starts to rise, don’t wait until it is too late. After a flood wait until the area is cleared by emergency services before entering the area or structures. Flooding can cause floors and walls to be weakened and may collapse. Also remain clear of areas with electrical wires until after the area is cleared by the local utility company. For your property, consider checking with your insurance agent to see whether you are in need of flood insurance.

Riley is participating in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program and those that are in a flood hazard area may be eligible for access to flood insurance at slightly reduced rate. Check the following links for more information on flooding. 

Riley Flood Hazard Area Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Flood hazard areas are determined using statistical analyses of records of riverflow, storm tides, erosion, wave heights, and rainfall; information obtained through consultation with the community; floodplain topographic surveys; and coastal, hydrologic, and hydraulic analyses.  The FIS covers those areas subject to flooding from rivers and streams, along coastal areas and lakeshores, and /or shallow flooding areas.

A Flood hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) is based on approximate data and identifies the SFHAs within a community.  It is used in the NFIP’s Emergency Program for floodplain management and insurance purposes. 

A FIRM or Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM) is normally issued following a flood risk assessment conducted in connection with a community’s conversion to the NFIP’s Regular Program.  If a detailed assessment, termed a Flood Insurance Study (FIS), has been performed, the FIRM will show Base Flood Elevations (BFEs) and insurance risk zones in addition to floodplain boundaries.  The FIRM may also show a delineation of the regulatory floodway.  After the effective date of the FIRM, the community’s floodplain management ordinance must be in compliance with appropriate Regular Program requirements. 

Actuarial rates, based on the risk zone designations shown on the FIRM, are then applied for newly constructed, substantially improved, and substantially damaged buildings.

An insured will never be paid more than the value of the covered loss, less deductible, up to the amounts of insurance purchased.  Therefore, purchasing insurance to value is an important consideration.  The amount of insurance a property owner needs should be discussed with an insurance agent or broker.

A proof of loss – the policyholder’s valuation of claimed damages – is a sworn statement made by the policyholder that substantiates the insurance claim and is required to be submitted to the NFIP or WYO Company within 60 days of the loss.  A printed form usually is available from the adjuster assigned to the claim.

Note: Some WYO Companies and the NFIP Direct Servicing Agent may require the proof of loss to be affirmed by a public notary.

A flood insurance policyholder should immediately report any flood loss to the insurance company or agent who wrote the policy.  A claims adjuster will be assigned the loss, and the policyholder must file a “proof of loss” within 60 days of the date of loss.  A policyholder whose policy is with the WYO Company must follow the company’s claim procedures.  The 60-day time limit for filling a proof of loss remains the same.

No.  The policy covers only direct physical flood damage to the dwelling and does not provide for additional living expenses.

 

Replacement cost coverage is available for a single-family dwelling, insured under the Dwelling Form that is the policyholder’s principal residence and is insured for at least 80 percent of the building’s total insurable value at the time of the loss, or the maximum amount of insurance available under the Program.  Replacement cost coverage does not apply to manufactured (i.e. mobile) homes smaller than certain dimensions specified in the policy.

Losses are adjusted on a replacement cost basis for residential condominium buildings insured under the Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP).  However, coverage amounts less than 80 percent of the building’s full replacement cost value (RCV) at the time of loss will be subject to a coinsurance penalty.

Building losses under the General Property Form are always adjusted on an actual cash value basis.

Contents losses are always adjusted on an actual cash value basis.  Actual cash value means the replacement cost of an insured item of property at the time of loss, less the value of physical depreciation of the item damaged.

Some are.  When an insured building is in imminent danger of being flooded, the reasonable expenses incurred by the insured for the removal of insured property to a safe location and return will be reimbursed up to $1,000, and the purchase of sandbags and sand to fill them, plastic sheeting and lumber used in connection with them, pumps, fill for temporary levees, and wood will be reimbursed up to $1,000.  No deductible is applied to this coverage.

Note:  The coverage for Sandbags, Supplies, and Labor applies only if damage to insured property by or from flood is imminent, and the threat of flood damage is apparent enough to lead a person of common prudence to anticipate flood damage.

One of the following must also occur:

  1. A general and temporary condition of flooding in the area near the described location must occur, even if the flood does not reach the insured building; or

  2. A legally authorized official must issue an evacuation order or other civil order for the community in which the insured building is located calling for measures to preserve life and property from the peril of flood.  This coverage does not increase the Coverage A or Coverage B limit of liability.

 

The NFIP will pay for losses from land subsidence under certain circumstances.  Subsidence of land along a lakeshore or similar body of water that results from the erosion or undermining of the shoreline caused by waves or currents of water exceeding cyclical levels that result in flood is covered.  All other land subsidence is excluded.

Unless there is a general condition of flooding in the area and the flood is the proximate cause of sewer or drain backup, sump pump discharge or overflow, or seepage of water, the NFIP does not insure for direct physical loss caused directly or indirectly by any of the following:

  • Backups through sewers or drains

  • Discharges or overflows from sump, a sump pump, or related equipment; or

  • Seepage or leaks on or through the covered property.

 

Yes.  There is a 30-day waiting period before flood coverage goes into effect.  The effective dat of a new policy will be.

  • 12:01 a.m., local time, on the 30th calendar day after the application date and the presentment of premium.

There are exceptions in which the 30-day waiting period does not apply.

  • In connection with making, increasing, extending, or renewing a loan, whether conventional or otherwise, flood insurance that is initially purchased in connection with the making, increasing, extending, or renewal of a loan shall be effective at the time of loan closing, provided that the policy is applied for and the presentment of premium is made at the time of or prior to the loan closing.

  • In connection with lender requirement, the 30-day waiting period does not apply when flood insurance is required as a result of a lender determining that a loan on a building in an SFHA that does not have flood insurance coverage should be protected by flood insurance.  The coverage is effective upon the completion of an application and the presentment of payment of premium.

  • When the initial purchase of flood insurance is in connection with the revision or updating of Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) or Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM): During the 13-month period beginning on the effective date of the map revision, the effective date of a new policy shall be 12:01 a.m., local time, following the day after the application date and the presentment of premium.  This rule applies only where the FHBM or FIRM is revised to show the building to be in an SFHA when it had not been in and SFHA.

After a community joins the NFIP, a policy may be purchased from any licensed property insurance agent or broker who is in good standing in the state in which the agent is licensed or through any agent representing a Write Your Own (WYO) Company.  The agent will complete the flood insurance application, obtain the proper supporting documentation required, and determine the rates for establishing the flood insurance premium.

The steps to purchase flood insurance are as follows:

  • Identify the flood zone in which the structure is located.

  • Complete the flood insurance application.

  • If required, obtain supporting documentation ( i.e., elevation certificate, photos, zone determination).

  • Submit the completed application, supporting documentation, and full premium to the insurer.

 

Insurance may be written on any building eligible for coverage with two or more outside rigid walls and a fully secured roof that is affixed to a permanent site.  Building must resist flotation, collapse, and lateral movement.  The structure must be located in a community that participates in the NFIP.

  • Manufactured (i.e. mobile, travel trailers without wheels) homes that are affixed and anchored to a permanent foundation are eligible for coverage.

  • Contents coverage for personal belongings located within an eligible building can also be purchased

What kinds of property are not insurable under the NFIP?

Buildings entirely over water or principally below ground, gas and liquid storage tanks, animals, birds, fish, aircraft, wharves, piers, bulkheads, growing crops, shrubbery, land, livestock, roads, machinery or equipment in the open, and most motor vehicles are not insurable through the NFIP.

FEMA provides mapped communities with a single paper map of their community.  The maps are generally kept in community planning or building permit departments where they should be available for review. In addition, digital flood maps can be viewed on FEMA’s Map Information eXchange (FMIX) website at http://msc.fema.gov.  Property owners can also contact their insurance agent, who usually has access to FEMA maps or to a Flood Zone Determination service.

 

NFIP coverage is available to all owners of eligible property (a building and/or its contents) located in a community participating in the NFIP.  Owners and renters may insure their property against flood loss.  Owners of buildings in the course of construction in participating communities may purchase flood insurance.

A Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is an official map of a community on which FEMA has delineated both the special hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

The SFHA is a high-risk area defined as any land that would be inundated by a flood having a 1-percent chance of occurring in a given year. This is also referred to as a base flood. The high-risk-area standard constitutes a reasonable compromise between the need for building restrictions to minimize potential loss of life and property and the economic benefits to be derived from floodplain development. Development may take place within an SFHA, provided that it complies with local flood plain management ordinances, which must meet the minimum Federal Requirements.

Flood is defined in the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP), in part, as: A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties from overflow of inland or tidal waters, from unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff or surface waters from any source, or from mudflow.

Connect With Us

222 S. Broadway
P.O. Box 314
Riley, KS 66531

Mon – Thurs: 7:00 am – 4:30 pm
Fri: 7:00 am – 11:00 am

Service Request

City News & Updates

The latest City Of Riley news, articles, and updates, sent straight to your inbox every month.

[mc4wp_form id="228"]

Copyright © 2023. City Of Riley. All Rights Reserved.