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What
You Need to Know About Floodplain Management INTRODUCTION The
Village of French Settlement is dedicated to minimizing the
loss of life and property that is associated with flooding
events. Education
and prevention are valuable and proven tools that help communities
become resistant to these natural disasters.
The Village of French Settlement recognizes that its
entire community is susceptible to flooding, not just those
structures located within Flood Hazard Areas (FHA’s).
The following information has been provided to help
inform property owners located within the FHA, flood prone
areas and also all property owners within the Village of French
Settlement. FLOOD
HAZARD The
Village of French Settlement is located in the southwestern
portion of Livingston Parish. Although
ponding of runoff produced by rainstorms and hurricanes causes
occasional localized flooding the most severe flooding is
caused by backwater flooding from the Amite River and Colyell
Bayou. Southeast winds also have a substantial impact during
flood events. It is estimated that a sustained southeast wind
of 30 mph will rise the water surface at the mouth of the
Amite River by 5 feet. Significant flooding events in recent
years occurred in 1957, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1979,
1983, 1985, 1990, 1993, 1994, and 2001. The flood of
record occurred in 1983, and it has been categorized as a
45 year flood event. FLOOD
SAFETY 1.
Learn the safest route from your home or business to
higher, safer ground, but stay tuned to reports of changing
flood conditions. 2.
If emergency officials tell you to evacuate or leave
your home, go immediately to a safe shelter, hotel or relative’s
house. 3.
Turn off all utilities, gas and electricity at the main switch.
Stay away from power lines and electrical lines.
Be alert for gas leaks. 4.
Do not walk through flowing water.
Drowning is the number one cause of flood related deaths.
Currents can be deceptive; six inches of moving water
can knock you off your feet. 5.
Do not drive through a flooded area. More people drown in
their cars than in any other location.
Vehicles also push water into homes and cause additional
property damage. FLOOD
INSURANCE The
purchase federal flood insurance is highly recommended.
Basic homeowner’s insurance policies don’t cover damage
from floods. The Village
of French Settlement participates in the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP) which means that federally subsidized flood
insurance is available to everyone in the City.
Remember there is a 30-day waiting period before a
policy becomes effective.
Some people have purchased flood insurance because
it was required by the bank or loan company when they obtained
a mortgage or home improvement loan.
Usually these policies just cover the building’s structure
and not the contents. Remember
that a flood insurance policy must be renewed each year. Mandatory
Purchase Requirement:
The mandatory purchase requirement applies to all forms
of federal or federally related financial assistance for buildings
located in a Flood Hazard Area (FHA).
This requirement affects loans and grants for the purchase,
construction, repair, or improvement of any publicly or privately
owned buildings in the FHA, including machinery, equipment,
fixtures and furnishings contained in such buildings. If
a building is located in a FHA, the agency or lender is required
by law to require the recipient to purchase a flood insurance
policy on the building. For
more information about flood insurance contact: ●
The Livingston Parish Library. ●
Contact your insurance agent. ●
Contact Ms Ferguson at the Village of French Settlement Permit
Department. PROPERTY
PROTECTION Rather
than wait for a flood to occur, you can act now to protect
your property from flood damage.
Various alternatives are available to help minimize
flooding. If the floor level of your property or structure
is lower than the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) located on the
Village’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), consider ways to
prevent flooding from occurring such as retrofitting your
building. “Retrofitting”
means altering your building to eliminate or reduce flood
damage. Retrofitting
measures include: ●
Elevating the building so that flood waters do not enter or
reach any damageable portions of it, ●
Constructing barriers out of fill or concrete between the
building and flood waters, ●
“Dry flood proofing” to make the building walls and
floor watertight so water does not enter, ●
“Wet flood proofing” to modify the structure and relocate
the contents so that when flood waters enter the building
there is little or no damage, and ●
Preventing basement flooding from sewer backup or sump
pump failure.
FLOOD
WARNING SYSTEM If
flooding is imminent and evacuation of the Village is advised,
Mayor Guitrau or Chief Brignac of the Village of French Settlement
will notify you through local radio, TV and the FSPD. The
local contact number is (225) 698-6100 or the Village of French
Settlement Police Department at (225) 698-3484. Please call
in reference to evacuation notices, procedures and shelters. FLOODPLAIN
DEVELOPMENT PERMIT REQUIREMENTS All
development in the Village of French Settlement needs local
permits. Contact
Ms. Ferguson at the Village of French Settlement’s Permit
Office at (225)698-6100 for advice before you build, fill,
place a manufactured home or otherwise develop.
The flood control ordinance and the Building Codes
Ordinance have special provisions regulating construction
and other developments within floodplains.
Without these provisions, flood insurance through the
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) would not be available
to property owners in the Village of French Settlement. Any development in the floodplain without a permit is illegal;
such activity can be reported to Ms. Ferguson or Mayor Guitrau
at the Permit Department at (225) 698-6100. SUBSTANTIAL
IMPROVEMENT REQUIREMENTS What
is substantial improvement?
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requires
that any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other
improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds
50% of the market value of the structure before the start
of construction of the improvement, must conform or meet the
same construction requirements as a new building and be constructed
above the minimum Base Flood Elevation (BFE) listed on the
Village of French Settlement’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). What
is substantial damage?
Substantial damage means damage of any origin sustained
by a building or structure when the cost of restoring the
building to its pre-damaged condition would equal or exceed
50% of the market value of the building before the damage
occurred. Substantial damage is determined regardless of the actual repair
work performed. The
Village of French Settlement requires by ordinance that any
substantial improvement or substantial damage improvement
must have a building permit.
Permit information can be obtained at the town hall
from Ms. Ferguson at (225) 698-6100. DRAINAGE
SYSTEM MAINTENANCE It
is illegal in the Village of French Settlement to dump any
type of debris into a canal, stream, river or drainage ditch.
This debris can become entangled impede drainage causing
the flow of water to back up.
Citizens of French Settlement should also keep drainage
ditches on their property free of debris, foliage and vegetation
that would impede the flow of water. Debris dumping should
be reported to Mayor Guitrau at the Village of French Settlement
Town Hall or Chief Brignac at the Police Dept.(225) 698-6100
or (225) 698-3484. FLOOD
INFORMATION Citizens
of the Village of French Settlement can obtain flood information
concerning flooding, flood maps, mandatory flood insurance
purchase requirements, flood insurance requirements and inquiries,
and flood zone determinations from the Village of French Settlement’s
Town Hall, or by calling Ms. Ferguson at (225) 698-6100. Elevation
Certificates of all properties
in the Flood Hazard Areas (FHA’s) are available and
on file at the French Settlement Town Hall and copies are
available upon request from Ms. Ferguson. Real
time river gauge information can obtained through the following
websites: www.frenchsettlement-la.gov
or www.amitebasin.org
or through www.usgs.gov.
FLOOD
PROTECTION ASSISTANCE Concerned
citizens and the general public can obtain information on
flood protection assistance from Mayor Guitrau at the Village
of French Settlement Town Hall at (225) 698-6100. List
of Services Provided: ●
Provide a list of names of professional land surveyors. ●
Make site visits to review flooding, and drainage problems. IMPORTANT
USEFUL WEBSITES Special
thanks to the City of Morgan City for providing written flood
information contained in this site. |