Resources

Recent FEMA CRS Retrogrades in Florida and How Forerunner Can Help

Last week, FEMA Region 4 retrograded five Florida communities out of the Community Rating System (CRS) for not properly enforcing and tracking SI/SD properties after Hurricane Ian. With the retrograde, property owners in the region will be losing tens of millions of dollars in discounts until their communities are allowed to regain their CRS classes. 

Navigating Flood Map Changes: LOMAs, LOMRs, and more

We’ve outlined the key differences between Letter of Map Amendments (LOMAs) and Letter of Map Revisions (LOMRs) - and why understanding these distinctions is vital for effective floodplain management. We aim to break down some of the barriers to implementing these map changes for our partners and the broader floodplain management community.

New Feature: Advanced Design Flood Elevation (DFE)

We have some exciting new updates to share related to Design Flood Elevation (DFE) in Forerunner.

Florida Flood Disclosure in the Sale of Real Property

During the 2024 Florida legislative session, the legislature passed CS/CS/HB 1049 Flood Disclosure in the Sale of Real Property. The bill requires sellers of residential real property to provide a completed flood disclosure form to the purchaser before a sales contract is executed.

Webinar Recap - Planning for Future Conditions: Innovative Floodplain Management in Pinellas County

Our latest webinar featured Lisa Foster, Floodplain Administrator for Pinellas County, Florida. Lisa talked through Pinellas County's Vulnerability Assessment, and shared how they have implemented new strategies and maps to ensure they are well prepared for the future.

How Sea Isle City Went from Worst to First in New Jersey Floodplain Management

When it comes to local governance, our community leaders often wear many different hats. Neil Byrne, for example, wears five. As Construction Official, Building Sub-code Official, Building Inspector, Zoning Officer & Certified Floodplain Manager for over 13,000 residents across Sea Isle City and Ocean City, NJ, Neil plays a critical role in these communities’ efforts to build long-term resilience against flooding.

Cedar Rapids, IA

“Being able to digitize our ECs from a record preservation standpoint is important, and that secondary check on the errors provides fantastic coverage. We double check our ECs from the start to make sure we catch errors, and communicate that back to engineers, architects, and surveyors.”

Jefferson Parish, LA

“We can just export ECs to a spreadsheet, which removes so many extra little steps that previously held us back. It significantly speeds our process up, and also reduces errors in the review process. In our last EC review, we got a 98% after the first review!”

Hialeah, FL

“Prior to Forerunner, our CRS files were scattered in piles on our desks. With Forerunner, I can gather all the files and information we need efficiently. Whenever we approve a permit, we immediately enter the information in. This saves us a significant amount of time”

Covington, LA

“The review of the ECs in Forerunner is now a very important part of our final reviews, and the logs are really helpful. It makes your annual recertification a little less cumbersome - it saves a lot of time."

Harris County, TX

“Another big benefit of using Forerunner is informing disaster analysis after a storm passes through. We usually go into the community to take a look at the damage – we have to quickly assess if structures have been impacted. If the water didn’t get high enough in the storm we can grant a permit on the spot, so knowing if a house has an Elevation Certificate can save us time. We might not even need to go into a house or make an appointment with a homeowner for an inspection.”

Brick, NJ

“I can't tell you how awesome the Public Property Profile feature is. It looks so professional and residents can manipulate the data to get an understanding of the differences between FIRMs. Every time someone calls now, I say “Yeah, just give me your email. I’ll show you all of the information,” and send them a Public Profile.”

Port Arthur, Texas

Long Branch, New Jersey

“We need all of our properties, whether new or substantially improved to be in compliance with National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) standards. I'm really enjoying Forerunner. It's saving me a lot of headaches because it's just much more streamlined. I don't have to go to different Excel spreadsheets, everything is all right there!"

City of Cape May, New Jersey

"Forerunner is the go-to place. In the past, a lot of our floodplain information was dispersed all over the office. Forerunner has really brought our floodplain management office into the 21st century and into the digital age."

Ocean City & Sea Isle City, New Jersey

Lower Township, New Jersey

Bay Head, New Jersey

"When I first came to Bay Head...the records were all over the place, there wasn't a central location...As soon as I saw Forerunner, it immediately got to my attention that this may be a solution for us to draw all this information together."