Description
In 2024, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued new rules to address increased flood risk, make communities more resilient, and help reduce the damage caused by both current and future flooding. As part of this change, FEMA issued an updated Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) requiring that agencies establish local standards to protect FEMA-funded projects from flood risk (effective September 9, 2024). Similarly, effective January 1, 2025, the Department of Housing and Urban Development established their own FFRMS standards to address flood risk for residential properties. However, these requirements were rescinded in 2025.
If needed in the future and contingent on funding from the Flood Control District or other sources, King County will conduct analysis and mapping efforts using FEMA or other federally authorized approaches to establish updated FFRMS flood elevations (“how high”) and floodplains (“how wide”) across the County’s floodplains. The availability and accessibility of public funding for Presidential Disaster Declarations, Federal Housing Administration loans, and FEMA grant funding, among other sources of federal funding, could be dependent on this work. This analysis would identify changes in policy, codes, and standards needed to account for climate change.