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CFM Exam Study Guide Latest Update 2025 Questions
with Answers.
Riverine, Coastal, and Shallow Flooding - Answers-What are the three most common types of flooding?
Flash Flooding - Answers-Which type of flooding has accounted for the most flood- related deaths?
Meander - Answers-A curve or turn in a river channel?
Storm Surge - Answers-What is the major cause in coastal flooding?
Underwater earthquakes or volcanoes - Answers-What causes a tsunami?
- Closed Basin Lakes
- Uncertain flow paths
- Dam breaks
- Ice jams
- Mudflows - Answers-List the five types of special flood hazards covered in FEMA
Recreational benefits, scientific and historical benefits, Ecosystem benefits, and they protect communities from flooding. - Answers-List three benefits that a floodplain contributes to your community
- Development alters the floodplain and the dynamics of the flooding
- Buildings and infrastructure are damaged by periodic flooding - Answers-What two problems result from floodplain development?
It can accelerate flooding on properties at the end of the wall - Answers-What is one of the problems with constructing seawalls to protect buildings from flooding or erosion?
- Hydrodynamic forces
- Hydrostatic forces
- Soaking
- Debris impact
- Sediment and contaminants - Answers-What are the 5 main causes of flood damage?
3 - Answers-Standing water as little as _____ feet deep can collapse the walls of a frame house.
Disruption of public utilities, Electrocution, contamination of water supplies, fire, dirty ponds, mold, contaminated air ducts, mental health problems - Answers-What are some of the safety and health hazards that accompany floods?
Structural flood control projects - Answers-Prior to the 1960's what was the primary way to reduce flood losses?
A decision-making process that aims to achieve the wise use of the nations floodplains.
- Answers-What is the unified national program for floodplain managements definition of floodplain management?
- To reduce the loss of life, disruption, and damage caused by floods
- To preserve and restore the natural resources and functions of floodplains - Answers- What are the two primary goals of floodplain management?
- Hilly areas with steep slopes and narrow valleys
- Urban areas with large amounts of impervious surfaces and storm sewers
- Areas downstream of dams or subject to ice jams - Answers-What areas are conducive to flash flooding?
No. Riverine erosion can move stream channels and undercut structures. - Answers-Is erosion only a threat in coastal areas?
Where storm water runoff collects in depressions and cannot drain out. - Answers-What is ponding?
Filling reduces the floodplains ability to store excess water, sending more water downstream and causing floods to rise to higher levels. - Answers-What does filling in a floodplain do?
Yes, it may remove a natural barrier that protects inland properties - Answers-Does moving sand and sand dunes affect flooding?
Moving, Standing - Answers-Hydrodynamic forces are caused by _____ water and hydrostatic forces are caused by ____ water.
Wood, gypsum board, furniture and upholstery, carpeting, mattresses, books, electrical appliances, gas engines - Answers-List three materials or house hold items that are particularly susceptible to flood damage by soaking.
- Regulations to prohibit development in high-hazard areas
- Building codes requiring flood resistant construction for new buildings in flood prone areas
- Acquisition and relocation of buildings in high hazard areas
- Modifying or retrofitting existing buildings
- Installing flood warning systems
An arrangement whereby private insurance companies write and service NFIP flood insurance policies under their own name - Answers-What is the Write Your Own program?
- A resolution of intent to "maintain in force...adequate land use and control measures" and to cooperate with FEMA.
- Its adopted floodplain management ordinance - Answers-When a community applies to join the NFIP, what must it submit?
- Flood insurance will not be available.
- Existing flood insurance policies cannot be renewed.
- No federal grants or loans for development
- No federal disaster assistance
- No federal mortgage insurance or loan guarantees
- Federally insured lending institutions must notify applicants there is a flood hazard area and the property is not eligible for federal disaster relief. - Answers-What are the sanctions if a community does not participate in the NFIP?
Premium income. The NFIP has been self-supporting since 1986. - Answers-Where does most of the money come from to pay the expenses of the NFIP?
More than 19,000 - Answers-How many communities currently participate in the NFIP?
A building built before the effective date of the community's flood insurance rate map. - Answers-What is a Pre-Firm building?
Yes. Buildings built in accordance with the community's regulations have a lower risk of flooding and can be insured at lower rates. - Answers-Is there any relation between how a community regulates new construction and flood insurance rates?
- Issuing or denying floodplain development/building permits
- Inspecting all development to assure compliance with the local ordinance.
- Maintaining records of floodplain development
- Assisting in the preparation and revision of floodplain maps
- Helping residents obtain information on flood hazards, floodplain map data, flood insurance and proper construction measures - Answers-List two things your community committed itself to when it joined the NFIP?
False. Flood insurance rates and coverage rules are set by FEMA's Federal Insurance Administration - Answers-Insurance companies set flood insurance rates and coverage rules. True/false
- If the community is in the community rating system, it can reclassify it to a class 10 (no insurance premium discount).
- The community can be put on probation.
- The community can be suspended. - Answers-What can FEMA do to encourage a community to adequately enforce its floodplain management regulations?
The same as for nonparticipation. Suspension means the community is no longer a participant in the NFIP. - Answers-What are the sanctions if a community is suspended from NFIP?
Flood Prone Area and Flood Risk Zones - Answers-As directed by the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, FEMA conducts flood studies in order to determine ____ and ____.
1% chance - Answers-The base flood is a flood that has a ____ of occurring in any year.
100 - Answers-The base flood is also called the ____ year flood
False - Answers-The 100 year flood will occur only once every 100 years. T/F?
True - Answers-A 100 year flood could occur two times in one year? T/F
True - Answers-The 100 year flood might not occur in a 200 year period. T/F?
True - Answers-The base flood could occur two consecutive years in a row?
Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) - Answers-On NFIP maps, the 100 year floodplain is called the _____
Base Flood Elevation - Answers-BFE is the acronym for ____.
- The FIS- Flood Insurance Study Report
- The FIRM - Flood Insurance Rate Map
- The Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, Which is included in studies prepared before 1986 (Since 1986, floodways are shown on the FIRM) - Answers-What are the components of a flood insurance study?
Hydrology/Hydraulics - Answers-For the purpose of a riverine flood study, ____ is the study of the distribution and circulation of water in the environment, and ____ is the study of fluids in motion and how water will flow through the channel.
discharge - Answers-The rate at which runoff flows downstream is called the flood ____.
Stream discharges usually will increase as a consequence to the increase in urbanization within a community or upstream of it. - Answers-What probable effect does
Old format FIRM/FBFM or FLoodway Map New format FIRM - Answers-Prior to 1986, the maps published with an FIS are the ____ and the ____. Since 1986, the map published with an FIS is the ____.
Location reference marks are identified with a small x and the designation ERM or RM followed by a number. - Answers-What does an elevation reference mark look like on a FIRM?
AO Zone - Answers-The area subject to sheet flow, ponding or shallow flooding.
Its the white area adjacent to and including the channel. - Answers-How is a floodway shown on the flood boundary and floodway map?
It is a shaded area with diagonal lines. - Answers-How is a floodway shown on a new format FIRM?
X - Answers-A Zone C on an old format FIRM is shown as a zone ____ on the new format FIRM.
Coastal Barrier Resources Act - Answers-CBRA stands for
All the communities in the county, even those not currently in the NFIP. - Answers-What communities floodplains are shown on a countywide FIRM?
landside - Answers-Floodways are shown along the ____ toe of a levee on the FIRM.
Shaded Zone X - Answers-Areas behind recognized levees are designated as ____.
100/1 - Answers-The base flood elevation is the elevation of the ____ year flood or the ____ % annual chance flood.
base flood - Answers-The Special Flood Hazard Area or SFHA is how the ____ floodplain is shown on FEMA maps.
A/V - Answers-The SFHA is shown on the firm as a zone that begins with the letter ____ or ____.
- Flood Insurance Study Report
- Flood Insurance Rate Map
- Flood boundary and Floodway Map for studies conducted prior to 1986. In studies conducted since 1986, the floodway data are shown on the FIRM and there is no separate flood boundary and floodway map. - Answers-What are the components of a Flood Insurance Study?
- Whether a property is in a floodplain
- The flood insurance zone that applies to the property
- The approximate BFE at a site - Answers-List three things that a FIRM is used to determine.
Hydrology - Answers-____ is the study of a watersheds behavior before and after a storm.
Datum - Answers-Surveyors reference elevation to a common ____.
National Geodetic Vertical Datum or NGVD - Answers-Most permanent FIS elevation reference marks are referenced to what datum?
Elevations (also velocities and floodplain widths) - Answers-A hydraulic study uses the hydrology, cross section information, and stream characteristics to determine the flood ____.
Floodway Map New Format FIRM - Answers-Cross sections are shown on which maps?
Flood elevations along a river or stream between cross sections. - Answers-Flood profiles are used to determine what?
Floodway Flood Fringe - Answers-In riverine situations, the floodplain is divided into two separate parts for floodplain management purposes. These parts are the ____ and the ____.
One Foot - Answers-Based on the minimum NFIP Standard, if the flood fringe were completely, how high could the base flood elevation go up?
V Zone - Answers-What FIRM zone has wave heights greater than three feet?
Depth - Answers-Instead of using a base flood elevation, some shallow flooding areas are defined using a base flood ____.
Floodplain/flood elevation - Answers-An approximate study shows the base ____ but does not show the base ____.
They always have six digits. This is important to avoid confusion with the five-digit countywide FIRM number. The community identification number does not include the panel number and other numbers that appear near it on the FIRM title block. - Answers- How many digits are there in the NFIP community identification number?
AH - Answers-Shallow flooding base floodplain with base flood elevations is a ____ zone.
A permit is required for all development in the SFHA shown on your FIRM. - Answers- What is Basic Rule #2 for permitting in a floodplain?
Development must not increase the flood hazard on other properties. - Answers-What is basic rule #3 for encroachments in riverine floodplains?
The FIRM for the county or the community the property used to be in. - Answers-What map do you use if recently annexed areas do not show up on your communities FIRM?
No. Insurance agents and lenders must use the current FIRM when setting insurance rates and determining whether flood insurance is required. If a person wants to vary from the current FIRM to obtain different premium rates or to not have to purchase a flood insurance policy, the FIRM must be officially revised or amended. This can be done through LOMA. - Answers-If you find information that shows the ground to be higher that the BFE, can a bank use that data when determining whether a flood insurance policy must be purchased?
- Check with your state NFIP coordinator, local water-related districts, the COrps of Engineers, etc. to see if there are any existing studies.
- See if the Town Engineer or the developers engineer will conduct a study.
- Use the flood of record plus a margin of protection. - Answers-Site E is in the approximate A Zone of Dean Lake. A developer wants to build a small commercial building on a 3 acre site. Where do you get a base flood elevation for Site E?
1.He can conduct a flood study and produce the BFE's at his expense
- He can set the A zone aside as open space and not conduct a flood study. - Answers-A developer downstream of Dean Lake wants to build a 40 acre subdivision that crosses Ireland Creek. You need a base flood elevation before you review the plans. What options do you tell the developer he has?
The draft revised data should be used unless the community disagrees with the data and intends to appeal. As noted previously, the community must first legally adapt the preliminary study in their ordinance. - Answers-A restudy was performed on the Josias River. The preliminary study will not be final for another five months. It shows a new BFE at Site N that is two feet higher than the BFE in your current FIS. Which one do you use to determine the flood protection level for a new home at Site N?
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling , grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations or storage of equipment or materials. - Answers-Define "Development" as the term is used in your ordinance.
No. The local permit should not be issued until staff are certain that other agencies requirements are met. If it is just a question of time and a state permit is expected to be issued, a local permit could be issued conditioned on obtaining a state permit. However, if it is clear that the project violates the state regulations, a local permit should not be
issued until the matter is settled. - Answers-The state in which Flood County is situated requires a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection for development on primary sand dunes. A permit applicant wants to build on one near Site F. Department staff informs you that based on the plans they have seen, they will have to deny the state permit. Should the Flood County permit officer issue a floodplain development permit?
You must determine whether the project will result in increases in downstream flooding by removing an existing obstruction. While you are not required to do this by NFIP minimum requirements, these changes can cumulatively cause significant increases in downstream flooding. - Answers-An encroachment review should review projects in a floodway for what two things?
Yes. - Answers-A farmer wants to build a dairy barn in the floodway. Will he need to provide you with a "no-rise" certification before you can issue the permit?
Yes, if it is located in the conveyance shadow of the farmhouse. - Answers-A farmer wants to build a small addition onto his farmhouse (In the Floodway). Can this be designed so he wont have to pay for an engineer's encroachment review?
- He must conduct an encroachment review that demonstrates that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development:
- Will not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point within the community
- Is consistent with the technical criteria contained in chapter 5 (hydraulic analyses) of the Flood Insurance Study: Guidelines and specifications for study contractors, FEMA- 37, 1995. - Answers-In a riverine AE Zone with a base flood elevation, what must a developer show in order to demonstrate that he is meeting basic rule #3?
New, substantially improved or substantially damaged buildings must be protected from damage by the base flood. - Answers-What does Basic Rule #4 say about new buildings in A Zones?
In areas where flooding is likely to have high velocities or waves. - Answers-Where would elevation on piles or columns be preferred?
yes - Answers-Can a basement be considered the lowest floor?
At the top of the lowest floor. - Answers-If a residence is elevated above the BFE in an A Zone, where do you measure how high the building is?
Only building access, parking or storage. - Answers-What can be allowed under the lowest floor of an elevated building?
They are both treated the same. They must meet the same construction and elevation requirements. - Answers-How is a manufactured home outside of a manufactured housing park treated differently from a conventional "stick built" home?
They are both treated the same. They must meet the same construction and elevation requirements. - Answers-How is a 600 square foot motor home that is permanently attached to a reinforced block wall foundation treated differently from a manufactured home?
There are special building requirements in addition to the building protection requirements for buildings in A Zones. - Answers-What does Basic Rule #5 say about new buildings in V Zones?
No. It can only be elevated on posts, pilings, piers or columns to avoid obstructions to the wave action. - Answers-Can a new building be built in the V Zone elevated on a crawl space?
At the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member. - Answers-Where is the lowest floor measured in a V Zone?
Have an engineer certify that the design and planned methods of construction are in accordance with accepted standards of practice to resist flotation, collapse and lateral movement due to the effects of wind and water loads acting simultaneously on all building components. - Answers-What does the permit official do to be sure that a V Zone building will be adequate to resist the wind and water loads?
Don't touch them. They provide important flood protection by breaking waves during coastal storms. If they are to be disturbed, the permit applicant should have an engineers or geologists report that their removal will not increase flood damage. - Answers-What's the best way to deal with sand dunes in a V Zone development site?
The subdivider also needs to make sure that:
- All public utilities and faculties, such as sewer, gas, electrical, and water systems are located and constructed to minimize or eliminate flood damage
- Adequate drainage is provided to reduce exposure to flood hazards - Answers-If a subdivider makes sure that all building sites are above the BFE, does he need to do anything more to meet the NFIP requirements?
Through careful system design. Manholes should be raised above the 100-year flood level or equipped with seals to prevent leakage. Pumping stations should have electrical panels elevated above the BFE. - Answers-How can you protect a sewer system from flooding?
44 CFR 59.1 Definitions - Answers-In what part of the code of federal regulations would you find the definition for development?
44 CFR 60.3(e) - Answers-Where do I find the NFIP requirements for areas mapped with V Zones?
All parts up through 60.3(e) - Answers-If a community has a FIRM that shows Floodways and V Zones, which parts of 44 CFR 60.3 must it abide by?
yes. The requirements are cumulative in section 60.3 - Answers-If your community follows the requirements of 44 CFR 60.3(d), does it have to worry about what's in 44 CFR 60.3(b)?
No. The community must use the latest maps and data provided by FEMA. If the other map shows a higher BFE and a larger floodplain, the community map adopt it in its ordinance as the regulatory floodplain and exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. The map must be approved by the FEMA Regional Office before this is done. - Answers-A building official finds it easier to read an old flood map prepared on an aerial photograph by the corps of engineers. He doesn't want to use the current FIRM because it doesn't show all the buildings and features that the photograph does. Can he make permit decisions based on the Corps map instead of the FIRM?
The Community Rating System (CRS) - Answers-What NFIP program recognizes local regulatory standards that are more restrictive than the minimum NFIP regulations?
taking - Answers-If a regulatory requirement prohibits an owner from any use of his land, it is referred to by the legal term _____?
None. - Answers-In how many court cases have the NFIP regulations been overruled as unconstitutional?
The more restrictive state requirement. - Answers-If a state requirement is more restrictive than an NFIP requirement, which set of rules must a community follow?
- Subdivision design that encourages cluster development on high ground
- Low density zoning that gives owners large lots large enough to avoid small floodplains - Answers-Name two higher regulatory standards than can be used to encourage building sites completely out of the floodplain.
An additional height requirement above the base flood elevation that provides a margin of safety against extraordinary or unknown risks. - Answers-What is freeboard?
Keep them out of the 500 year floodplain. The next best approach is to protect them to the 500 year flood level. - Answers-What is the preferred flood protection approach for critical facilities?
- Whether there will be any enclosures below the elevated floor
- The v zone certification signed by a registered professional architect
- The materials used in the area below the BFE - Answers-What are the key items you need to check when reviewing the plans for a new house to be built on pilings in the v zone?
- Floodplain development permit application/ Site and/or building plans/ Floodway encroachment analysis
- Floodplain development permit application/ Site and/or building plans
- Floodplain development permit application/ Site and/or building plans/ V Zone certification
- The state highway bridge may be exempt from local regulations. However, it is a good idea to talk to the state NFIP coordinator to ensure that the project meets all state floodplain management requirements.
- Floodplain management permit application/ Sitie and/or building plans/ Nonconversion agreement - Answers-Match the list of proposed projects with the documents that will be needed in order to determine if the project
- New Shopping center parking lot in the flood way
- New house in the Fringe
- New house in the V Zone
- Reconstruction of a state highway bridge
- New house built over a floodable, but enclosed garage
After the site is staked out and before permanent foundation work has begun. - Answers-When is the best time to make the first site inspection?
When the forms are in place but before the concrete has been poured. - Answers-When should you make the second inspection of a building on slab foundation?
- Have the builder provide an elevation certificate
- Check the elevation yourself during the second inspection - Answers-What are your two options for making sure a building is high enough before you allow construction to proceed after the second inspection?
- Ensure that the foundation and floor elevation have not been altered since the last inspection
- Obtain an as built elevation or floodproofing certificate
- Verify that enclosures below the lowest floors have adequate openings
- Ensure that nothing subject to flood damage has been located below the lowest floor.
- Check breakaway walls in V Zones
- Check for floodway encroachments
- Check the anchoring system used in securing manufactured homes - Answers-What should you check during the third site inspection?
A certificate of occupancy, certificate of compliance, use permit or other official document that allows the building to be occupied or used. - Answers-If a project meets all the ordinance requirements and is built according to the approved plans, what does the owner get after the final inspection?
Your local permit official. - Answers-If a FEMA staff person finds a project in violation of the FEMA NFIP requirements, who is responsible for correcting the violation?
Talk to Ms. Murphy and explain why a permit is needed and why it is important not to fill the floodway. You should get voluntary compliance. - Answers-You discover that Ms. Murphy has ordered five truckloads of fill to raise her backyard in the floodway. She never asked for a permit. What is the recommended first step to dealing with this situation?
Advise the owner to stop work and tell him/her in writing that the project is in violation and what should be done to correct it. - Answers-If a project is found underway in the floodplain, what is the first step you should take?
- A fine (that can increase for each day the violation continues)
- recording the violation in the propertys deed records
- A court injunction to stop work - Answers-What legal recourses do you and your attorney have to bring a violation into compliance?
There are none, or more specifically, they are whatever your ordinance specifies. - Answers-What are the NFIP procedures for submitting an appeal to your board of appeals?
- They show what you approved and what you told the developer
- They form a paper trail needed for administrative or legal proceedings
- They give future owners information about the property
- They are checked by FEMA or the state to determine if your community is in full compliance with the NFIP - Answers-why should you keep permit records?
- The permit app form and all attachments including the site plan.
- All correspondence pertinent to the project
- Flood and floodway data prepared by the developer
- Engineering analyses of floodway encroachments and watercourse alterations
- Special engineering designs for enclosures below the BFE
- In coastal high hazard areas, engineering certifications of designs and construction methods of new and substantially improved buildings
- In coastal high hazard areas, certification of specially designed breakaway walls.
- Any variances or appeals proceedings
- Records of inspections of the projects while under construction
- Documentation of the as built lowest floor elevation of all new and substantially improved buildings
- The location of the floodplain and floodway boundaries.
- Setbacks from lot lines, channel banks, etc.
- floodway encroachments (if applicable) - Answers-What should you check for during the first site inspection?
When the foundation is completed so you can check if it is high enough before the lowest floor is built. - Answers-When should you make the second inspection for a building to be elevated on a crawl space or columns?
yes - Answers-If you use a level to verify the elevation of a building during the second inspection, will the builder still need to provide an as built elevation certificate?
During the second inspection, before the floor is built. This will allow the builder to install the needed openings with a minimum of disruption to the structure. - Answers-When is the best time to see if a crawl space has adequate openings?
It authorizes FEMA to deny flood insurance to a property declared in violation of the community's ordinance. Among other things, this will prevent the property from receiving any federal grants and loans and may limit mortgages from federally regulated or insured lending institutions. - Answers-How can section 1316 help a local permit official faced with a subdivider who refuses to build houses in compliance with the floodplain regulations?
No. "Variances shall not be issued by a community within in any designated regulatory floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result...." (44 CFR 60.6 (a)1.) - Answers-Can a community grant a variance to allow a project in the floodway that will cause a 1/2' increase in flood height?
- Historic buildings
- Functionally dependent uses - Answers-Name two situations where special exceptions may be granted for a variance.
- geographical identifier, such as street address - Answers-Permit records should be kept systematically. Your system should be keyed so you can retrieve permit files by:
- It includes all the data needed for NFIP compliance
- It meets the requirements of the community rating system
- It is needed by insurance agents to write a policy - Answers-What are the advantages of using the FEMA elevation certificate as a record of a buildings lowest floor elevation?
No, it must by a registered professional engineer - Answers-Can a surveyor sign a floodproofing certificate?
The engineering or no rise certification must be supported by technical data and signed by a registered professional engineer. The supporting technical data should be based
on the standard step-backwater computer model used to develop the 100-year shown on your FIRM or Flood Boundary and Floodway Map and the results tabulated in your flood insurance study. - Answers-What is needed to support a no-rise certification?
If the cost of improvements or the cost to repair the damage exceeds 50% of the market value of the building, it must be brought up to current floodplain management standards.
- Answers-What is the basic rule on improvements and repairs to existing buildings in the floodplain?
- Answers-***Know items included/not included when calculating cost of an improvement project
The price a willing seller and buyer agree upon. Factors to consider are the buildings original quality, subsequent improvements, age and current condition. - Answers-What factors are considered when determining market value?
- An independent appraisal by a professional appraiser.
- Detailed estimates of the structures actual cash value (the replacement cost for a building, minus a depreciation percentage based on age and condition)
- Property appraisals used for tax assessment purposes by the tax appraiser to reflect market conditions (adjusted assessed value)
- The value of buildings taken from the NFIP claims data (usually actual cash value)
- Qualified estimates based on sound professional judgement made by the staff of the local building department or tax assessors office. - Answers-What are three good sources for obtaining the market value of a house?
Substantial damage is determined regardless of the actual cost to the owner. You must figure the true cost of bringing the building back to its pre damage condition using qualified labor and materials obtained at market prices. - Answers-What is the basic rule on calculating the cost of the damage?
Help the owner obtain financial assistance. Many programs are available after a disaster declaration. - Answers-A tornado swept through a town and damaged 25 buildings. how you can help the property owners comply with the floodplain ordinance substantial damage regulations.
- Remodeling projects
- Rehabilitation projects
- Building additions - Answers-What kind of projects need a permit so you can check to see if they would be a substantial improvement?
False. Damages can be from any cause. - Answers-The substantial damage regulations only apply if the structure was damaged by a flood. True or false?
To any licensed casualty insurance agent - Answers-Where does a property owner go to buy a flood insurance policy?
