Beginning in early March, states and municipalities across the country will participate in the National Weather Service’s flood awareness and preparedness week observances. FEMA is highlighting this campaign to help raise awareness of various flood risks that threaten both coastal and inland regions, such as riverine flooding, metro flooding, flood after fire, and hurricanes. 

FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides support to stakeholders in states and municipalities that participate in flood awareness and preparedness weeks by delivering shareable resources and encouraging direct outreach to communities to increase preparedness. According to a recent FEMA study, one of the primary obstacles to increasing flood insurance uptake is a need for more consumer awareness of flood risk. Through Flood Awareness Week outreach, the NFIP encourages stakeholders to reach out to their communities to ensure more people know their risk and understand the value of flood insurance. In support of various flood awareness and preparedness week observances across the country, NFIP is sharing a social media toolkit for state and local officials, emergency managers, community groups, and others to increase flood risk awareness. These social media posts are accessible on Floodsmart.gov. FEMA encourages stakeholders to share them widely with their audiences to spread essential information on flood preparedness. Access more information at FEMA’s flood preparedness site.

For water and wastewater systems there are multiple free resources to review to enhance awareness of flood mitigation efforts and other spring-weather hazards. FEMA’s open source Climate Risk and Resilience Portal and its Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool can be used to understand local scale flooding risk on infrastructure assets. In addition, members can review the EPA report, “Flood Resilience: A Basic Guide for Water and Wastewater Utilities,” which helps utilities understand their flooding risk and identify practical mitigation options to protect critical assets. The National Weather Service also has a spring weather safety presentation, highlighting the various natural hazards this season.