Keep in mind, however, that FIRMs aren’t perfect and don’t necessarily reflect the current state of your property or the likelihood of future floods. So, what is my BFE? FEMA provides maps called Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) that show the boundaries of a community’s flood plain, and provide specific data to determine the BFE for each location. In short, the BFE can impact the cost of your flood insurance and your ability to build on or modify your property. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other Federal agencies employ the base flood to require the purchase of flood insurance and regulate new development. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) uses the base flood as a national regulatory standard to reduce the risks of flood damage. But why does my BFE matter? That’s where the regulations come in.

Because floods are unpredictable, this number is based on statistical analysis of the likelihood of a flood and the possible damage it might cause. For example, if an area has a 1% chance of a flood reaching a certain height in any given day, that height is the Base Flood Elevation for that area. The base flood is defined as a 1% chance of a flood of that size occurring in any given day on any given year. First things first: Base Flood Elevation map refers to the elevation or height to which a flood is predicted to reach during the base flood. But don’t worry, today we’re going to break down what BFE really means, and why it matters to homeowners and property owners. And the government certainly doesn’t help with its jargon-filled definitions and regulations, including the Base Flood Elevation or BFE. What is Base Flood Elevation (BFE)? Understanding the Flood Plain Jargon Have you ever tried to navigate the waters, so to speak, of flood plain management? Trust me, as someone who has been in the real estate flood insurance game for a while, I know how complicated it can all seem.

Define base flood elevation