Glossary of Terms

• FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) – national administrative agency for the flood insurance program. Most city and/or counties have a local administrator (the “community official”), although some local governments choose not to participate in the program.
  
• FIRM (Flood Insurance Rate Map – the official federal map(s) defining areas subject to flooding) Zone A – a designated 100-year flood area that has not had an engineered flood study. Zone AE = a designated 100-year flood area that has an engineered flood study.
  
• LOMA/ LOMR F – Letter of map amendment/Letter of map revision based on Fill-process and/or form to remove a structure or (part) of a site from the designated 100-year flood plain. Requires detailed survey mapping. Some sites may have been inadvertently included within a designated flood hazard area (LOMA), while other sites may have been or can be altered by the placement of fill material (LOMR F).
  
• ELEVATION CERTIFICATE (elcert) – form required for buying flood insurance. Most often completed by a surveyor.
  
• REFERENCE MARK (also called a benchmark) – a known point/monument on the ground used to orient the house and site to the proper vertical data. It is the basis for the very important resulting data in the LOMA, LOMR F, and/or ELCERT.
  
• BFE (base flood elevation) – the defined 100-year flood elevation. The BFE is shown on FIRMS that have “AE” zones. No BFE is shown on maps that have only “A” zones. “A” zone BFE’s should be obtained from either the community official or an engineer. New construction must have a finish floor elevation at least one foot above the BFE.
  
• FEMA updates its maps from time to time, and, usually, the updated maps increase the flood heights (resulting in more property, or a greater area, subject to flooding).