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Item I7County of Monroe A BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Mayor George Neugent, District 2 The Florida. Key y w) Mayor Pro Tem David Rice, District 4 �r Danny L. Kolhage, District 1 Heather Carruthers, District 3 Sylvia J. Murphy, District 5 County Commission Meeting April 12, 2017 Agenda Item Number: I.7 Agenda Item Summary #2800 BULK ITEM: Yes DEPARTMENT: Building TIME APPROXIMATE: STAFF CONTACT: Ed Koconis (305) 453 -8727 N/A AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Approval of a resolution of the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida, Adopting the Monroe County Multi jurisdictional Program for Public Information (PPI); and providing for an effective date. ITEM BACKGROUND: The National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive that encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. Participation in the program is based on a point system and the more points you score the more discounts you receive for NFIP policy holders. Developing and adopting a Program for Public Information (PPI) is one of the activities that will increase the County's (and participating municipalities City of Key West, City of Marathon, and Islamorada, Village of Islands) scores. Staff estimates that adoption of the PPI will increase the County score to move from a current CRS Classification of 6 to a 5. Two memorandums, both addressing the PPI and activity related to the Repetitive Loss Area Analysis (RLAA), as well as a revised CRS Timeline, are attached as additional background information. PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: On October 19, 2016 the BOCC approved the 3 amendment to a contract with Lori Lehr to accomplish activities related to the Monroe County Community Rating System (CRS) and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP.) CONTRACT /AGREEMENT CHANGES: N/A STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval of the Resolution Adopting the Monroe County Multi - jurisdictional Program for Public Information. DOCUMENTATION: Memo from October 19, 2016 BOCC L4 - Lehr Contract Memo Regarding CRS and NFIP March 22, 2017 CRS Timeline PPI Final Draft 3.21.17 PPI Resolution FINANCIAL IMPACT: Effective Date: Expiration Date: Total Dollar Value of Contract: Total Cost to County: Current Year Portion: Budgeted: Source of Funds: CPI: Indirect Costs: Estimated Ongoing Costs Not Included in above dollar amounts: Revenue Producing: Grant: County Match: Insurance Required: Additional Details: If yes, amount: N/A REVIEWED BY: Rick Griffin Completed Rhonda Haag Skipped Judith Clarke Completed Assistant County Administrator Kevin Wilson 03/28/2017 4:33 PM Assistant County Administrator Christine Hurley 03/28/2017 4:51 PM Steve Williams Completed Jaclyn Carnago Completed Budget and Finance Completed Maria Slavik Completed Ed Koconis Completed Kathy Peters Completed Board of County Commissioners Pending 03/28/2017 9:23 AM 03/28/2017 3:44 PM 03/28/2017 4:16 PM Completed Completed 03/28/2017 4:58 PM 03/28/2017 5:01 PM 03/29/2017 10:40 AM 03/29/2017 10:45 AM 03/30/2017 8:24 AM 03/29/2017 11:16 AM 04/12/2017 9:00 AM MEMORANDUM MONROE COUNTY [1-4e strive to b t nrgfe ' xaL t fair. I F, TeTro reliforeTWIWOM 10 1111 MIDLqut F%E: Monroe County Community Rating System (CRS) and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) • you know, the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) is v, voluntary incentive program that encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. Participation in the program is based on a point system and the more points you score; the more discounts you achieve for NFIP policy holders as follows: How much discount property owners in your communk can get Each year a community must "recertify" to continue participation in the program. Further, it is possible for the County to gain additional points and receive even greater discounts for our citizens over the next couple of years. However, to do so requires additional program development and implementation. 0: * I R=1 Lori Lehr, the County's CRS consultant, has assisted in developing a plan to increase the points the County can achieve over the next two (2) years as follows: If we are successful in these planned activities the following summary savings for the community will be achieved: Program for Public Information (PPI) — for coordinated public outreach efforts throughout Monroe County The County needs to develop and adopt the Program for Pubic Information (PPI). We are already underway with this activity. A PPI is an ongoing effort to prepare, implement, and monitor a range of public information activities. The objective of CRS credit for a PPI is to provide additional credit for 0-m-WE Number of Percent Total Community Policies Discount wide savings soft Program for Public Information (PPI) — for coordinated public outreach efforts throughout Monroe County The County needs to develop and adopt the Program for Pubic Information (PPI). We are already underway with this activity. A PPI is an ongoing effort to prepare, implement, and monitor a range of public information activities. The objective of CRS credit for a PPI is to provide additional credit for 0-m-WE We have advertised a position to assist in this endeavor. We are seeking a person with experience in these FEMA grants to work with Ms. Lehr on developing the RLAA plan, which will also include inspecting each location and determining the "risk" to surrounding structures where repetitive loss has occurred. This is a vast amount of work and we need to begin this exercise now to meet the 2018 deadline. I , - I . I , I - jjmfm�� A wow 1 0 11 1 11111 111 "W. . Als r-111,111curing ;; UC UUMPICLIng LUC N atersn - e - ff - Iffa — sre - Fiff - an and Drainage Maintenance Plan. MEMORANDUM MONROE COUNTY We strive to be caring, professional, and fair. To: Monroe County Board of County Commissioners From: Christine Hurley, Assistant County Administrator Date: March 22, 2017 RE: Monroe County Community Rating System (CRS) and National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) As you know, the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive program that encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. Participation in the program is based on a point system and the more points you score; the more discounts you achieve for NFIP policy holders as follows: How Much Discount Property Owners in Your Community Can Get Anticipated Year Discoun Rate Class In SFHA Outside SFHA Credit Points Required 1 45% 10% 4,500+ 2 40% 10% 4,000 — 4,499 3 35% 10% 3,500 — 3,999 2018 4 30% 10% 3,000 — 3,499 2017 5 25% 10% 2,500 — 2,999 2016 achieved 6 20% 10% 2,000 — 2,499 7 15% 5% 1,500 — 1,999 8 10% 5% 1,000 — 1,499 9 5% 5% 500-999 10 0% 0% 0-499 Monroe County requested participation in the program early 2016 and a community visit was conducted by Mr. Craig Carpenter, ISO on April 28, 2015. The County obtained 2,468 credit points by simply documenting our existing programs, which results in a CRS Classification of 6. There are close to 15,000 plus policy holders in unincorporated Monroe County. The average premium is $1,206 /policy holder. CRS Classification 6 authorizes a 20% discount, which, using the average policy cost equates to $237 per policy, with a total community discount of $3,573,749. These discounts went into effect October 1, 2016, following FEMA's review and acceptance of the submitted materials. Given the County's history with FEMA over the past decade, this was a substantial achievement. Each year a community must "recertify" to continue participation in the program. Further, it is possible for the County to gain additional points and receive even greater discounts for our citizens over the next couple of years. However, to do so requires additional program development and implementation. Page 1 of 4 Lori Lehr, the County's CRS consultant, has assisted in developing a plan to increase the points the County can achieve over the next year as follows: • FYI 7: Goal -Class 5 (25% Discount) • Develop and Adopt a Program for Public Information (PPI) This work has been completed and is before the board today. Pending ISO review and FEMA acceptance this should increase our score enough to achieve a CRS Classification of 5, which would authorize a 25% discount (5% more than the 2016 score). Using the average policy cost a 25% discount equates to $296 per policy, with a total community discount of $4,460,003. • Submit a CRS 2017 Recertification. The recertification process begins in August, 2017 and is due to ISO on October 1 of each year. Preparation for this process is on- going. • On Wednesday March 22, 2017, FEMA and Monroe County held the required Community Assistance Visit at the Marathon Government Center. As a result, Monroe County remains in good standing with the NFIP. This is a threshold requirement for continued participation in the CRS Program. • FYI 8: Goal -Class 4 (30% Discount) • Develop and adopt a Repetitive Loss Area Analysis (,RLAU which will be a required step for the County to advance to a CRS Class 4. This is due to be completed by March 2018. • Develop and adopt a County Watershed Master Plan which will analyze the anticipated effects of potential increases in sea level on County drainage facilities. This is to be completed by March 2018. • Develop County Drainage Maintenance Plan which would include standard operating procedures and maintenance tracking for all County maintained drainage structures • Submit a CRS 2018 Recertification. The recertification process begins in August, 2018 and is due to ISO on October 1 of each year. • Submit a CRS Modification to ISO in March for a CRS Class 4, which would authorize a 30% discount, which, using the average policy cost equates to $355 per policy, with a total community discount of $5,346,243. • Implement a requirement that the lowest structural member of structures must be a mandatory 1' above the FEMA required elevation. This is called freeboard requirement. This will necessitate a land development code amendment. There is an additional incentive for implementing this which is a discount on FEMA insurance costs to those that elevate between 1' and 3' higher than the minimum required. If we are successful in these planned activities the following summary savings for the community will be achieved: FY CRS Classification Number of Policies Percent Discount Average Savings per policy per year Total Community wide savings 2016 -2017 6 15,000+ 20% $237 $3,573,749 2017 -2018 1 5 1 15,000+ 25% $296 1 $4,460,003 2018 -2019 1 4 1 15,000+ 30% 1 $355 1 $5,346,243 More details on each of these additional requirements follow: Program for Public Information (PPI) - for coordinated public outreach efforts throughout Monroe County This plan is before you today for review and adoption. Page 2 of 4 A PPI is an ongoing effort to prepare, implement, and monitor a range of public information activities. The objective of CRS credit for a PPI is to provide additional credit for information programs that are designed to meet local needs and that are monitored, evaluated, and revised to improve their effectiveness. For CRS credit, the PPI must be developed according to a seven -step planning and public involvement process which includes adoption by the Board of County Commissioners. Repetitive Loss Area Analysis (RLAA) FEMA is expected to adopt the new CRS Manual for the program period (2017 through 2020), but has yet to do so. Part of this manual will be a new requirement for a mandatory Repetitive Loss Area Analysis (RLAA). This will be a mandatory item. It requires the County to identify the geographic areas where flooding has occurred more than two times over 10 year period of time and to develop a plan where things such as purchase of the homes where repetitive loss has occurred, razing the home, and returning the land to its natural state (for the county this would mean we would also be buying a ROGO allocation), raising the elevation of the home, or other solutions developed as options in the analysis, to assist with remedying the frequent loss associated with these areas. FEMA has grant programs to help address these properties as follows: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) assists in implementing long -term hazard mitigation planning and projects following aPresidential major disaster declaration. Pre - Disaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM) provides funds for hazard mitigation planning and projects on an annualbasis. Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program (FMA) provides funds for planning and projects to reduce or eliminate risk of flood damage to buildings that are insured under the NFIP on an annual basis. We previously advertised, and in November of 2016, filled a position to assist in this endeavor. Hired as a Senior Floodplain Administrator in the Building Department, Adam Ferguson is a Certified Floodplain Manager ( "CFM ") and brings over seven years in experience with the FEMA grant programs. He will work with Ms. Lehr on developing the RLAA plan, which will also include inspecting each location and determining the "risk" to surrounding structures where repetitive loss has occurred. This is a vast amount of work and considerable effort has been undertaken towards this objective. To date, County Staff and Ms. Lehr have made the following progress: • Obtained, analyzed, and identified pertinent information from over 13,000 individual flood claim records • County GIS has developed a web -based application to assist with the viewing and analysis of the data; this type of functionality is needed for drafting the eventual RLAA plan • Prepared a Pilot Program in the Key Largo and Tavernier area to test the field work and data collection process Over the next several months, County Staff and Lori Lehr will finalize the required data collection and analysis, solicit public input and participation, and develop the RLAA plan document. We will keep you updated based on the timeline depicted at the end of this document. Watershed Master Plan and Drainage Maintenance Plan Finally, for 2018, for us to obtain a CRS classification of 4, the County must: • Develop and approve a Watershed Master Plan by: o Modeling for benchmarking, not necessarily for immediately actionable policy, to see what is Page 3 of 4 flooded, how often it is flooded and then a plan to minimize the impacts (Rhonda Haag, Sustainability Director and her team are currently working to update to Green Keys Plan to model to allow it to qualify as the Watershed Management Plan. County Engineering will assist in this process as needed): • An initial condition of a 100 -year storm flood, based on the baseline of 1992 for 2030, 2060, and 2100 using a 4.13' sea level rise for 2100, consistent with the NOAA Intermediate -High sea level rise projection with a slight adjustment for the Key West tide gauge • No king tides will be modeled • Develop an examination of constructed drainage systems to evaluate the 100 year projected Sea Level Rise • Amending, if needed, the County's land development code to eliminate any exemptions to storm water improvements required. • Develop a Drainage Maintenance Plan, whereby a standard operating procedure and maintenance tracking of all segments of the county maintained drainage system will be implemented annually. o Judith Clarke and the Engineering /Roads Department will work with Public Works to prepare this plan, coordinating with Lori Lehr to ensure compliance with all applicable CRS requirements. With the previous approval of the contract with Lori Lehr, the filling of the Senior Floodplain Administrator position, and with support from multiple County Departments, we are pursuing these complementary objectives consistent with strategy for reaching a CRS Class 4, and the 30% discount. Page 4 of 4 Ave Savings/ Effective Date CR Avg Total Savings - SCIass Savings Task March April May June 1 ly year/policy All Policies Organize and Submit Existing 10/1/2016 6 20% $235 $3,696,403 County /Local Activities for Initial Review CRS Re- Verification Finalize Plan & BOCC Review PPI Committee & Adoption Adoption Application for Class 5 Draft CRS Modificaton Verification 10/1/2017 5 25% $293 $4,608,340 Modificaton from ISO Com fete CRS Recertification EC Review I Host FEMA in Review and Respond, as 2017 CAV Marathon on Needed, to Any Findings 3.22.17 Provided by FE MA Tablets and Prepare and Gather Required Repetitive Loss Area Analysis Information for RLAA Field Data sent to RLAA Field Verificaton County -wi Work Vendorfor Data Upload Prepare and Gather Required Perform 10/1/2018 4 30% $360 $5,394,770 Green Keys Plan Update Information for Initial HAZUS Initial HAZUS Additional Field Work/ Data Fin, Analyses Analyses Collection Conduct Stratey Document Drainage Maintenance Plan Meetings Pr< CRS Re- Verification BM Multi - jurisdictional F Public Inf A March 21, 2017 @) LORI LEHR INC. Nmraw Listof Figures ......................... ............................... Listof Tables .......................... ............................... 1. Background ........................ ............................... 2. Objective ........................... ............................... 3. The PPI Committee ............ ............................... 4. Assessment of Public Information Needs ........ 4.1 The Flood Hazard .... ............................... 4.2 Natural Floodplain Functions ................. 4.3 Priority Areas ........... ............................... 4.4 Flood Insurance Coverage Assessment . 4.5. Priority Audiences .. ............................... 4.6. Current Outreach Efforts ...................... 5. Outcomes and Messages .. ............................... 6. Delivering the Messages ... ............................... 7. Outreach Projects .............. ............................... 8. Flood Response Projects ... ............................... 9. Implementation and Evaluation ....................... ..................................... ............................... i ..................................... ............................... i .................................... ............................... 2 .................................... ............................... 3 .................................... ............................... 3 .................................... ............................... 6 ....................................... ............................... ....................................... ............................... ....................................... ............................... ....................................... ............................... ....................................... ............................... ....................................... ............................... .................................. ............................... 19 .................................. ............................... 20 .................................. ............................... 23 .................................. ............................... 27 .................................. ............................... 33 6 9 ....10 ....11 ....15 ....16 List f Figures Figure Evacuation Map .............................................................................................. ..............................7 Figure Florida Keys Surge Map ................................................................................... ..............................7 List Of Tables Table 1. Monroe County PPI Committee .......................... ............................... Table2. Repetitive Loss .................................................... ............................... Table 3. NFIP Policies in the SFHA ..................................... ............................... Table 4. Insurance Coverage Table Categories ................. ............................... Table 5. Insurance Coverage by Occupancy Type ............. ............................... Table 6. Summary of Pre -and Post -FIRM Policies and Claims ........................ Table 7. Current Outreach Projects .................................. ............................... Table 8. Outcomes and Messages .................................... ............................... Table 9. Planned Outreach Projects ................................. ............................... Table 10 Annual Public Information Projects ................... ............................... Table11. Type of Project .................................................. ............................... Table 12. Flood Protection Messages for All Monroe County Communities.. Table 13. Flood Response Planned Projects ..................... ............................... Table 14. Flood Response Project Delivery ....................... ............................... Table 15. Type of Flood Response Project ........................ ............................... .......................... 4 ........................ 10 ........................ 11 ........................ 11 ........................ 12 ........................ 14 ........................ 16 ........................ 19 ........................ 23 ........................ 25 ........................ 26 ........................ 27 ........................ 29 ........................ 30 ........................ 32 a (gage Ii 1. Background Monroe County is located in the southernmost region of Florida. The County consists of a largely uninhabited mainland section, mostly contained within Everglades National Park and the Big Cypress National Preserve, and the chain of 882 islands known as the Florida Keys. More than 99 percent of the County's population lives on the Keys. The Florida Keys consist of a uniquely situated archipelago, 220 miles in length, located between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. They have 600 miles of exposed coastline. The majority of these islands are bordered by a mangrove plant system. Unlike many of Florida's coastal barrier islands, sandy beaches are uncommon and are mostly located on the Atlantic side of the islands. Essentially, the Florida Keys consist of a string of coral islands with an average elevation of 4 to 7 feet above mean sea level. Much of the Keys would be flooded in a Category 5 worst case storm event. Two sections in the City of Key West and several coral ridges on Key Largo are the only areas above the predicted flood level. The Monroe County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan notes that: Monroe County's highway transportation system is exceptionally unique in that a single road with connecting bridges forms the backbone of the entire county transportation network, and the sole link to the Florida mainland. United States Highway One (US 1) is two -lane highway for most of its length. It links the islands with 41 bridges. The bridge system comprises a total of 19 miles of the 126 -mile long roadway. US 1 is the main evacuation route for the Florida Keys. The Florida Keys have been named by the National Hurricane Center as an area most prone to the effects of tropical cyclones. In addition to this risk, they are a popular destination for 15,000 to 50,000 seasonal and holiday overnight visitors. Shelters located in Monroe County do not provide adequate protection for evacuees in the event of a Category 3 or stronger storm. Therefore, evacuating the population plus the visitors is a major issue, complicated by the fact that there is only one highway serving as the sole evacuation route. An increase in the frequency of flood inundation has been predicted due to the impacts of climate change and the resulting sea level rise. These changes mean that the County's citizens need to be educated on both the larger floods from hurricanes and the smaller, more frequent, floods from local storms and king tides. One important floodplain management program is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and its Community Rating System (CRS). Six communities in the County participate in the CRS. In 2016, Monroe County, Islamorada, Marathon, and Key West, agreed that, given the unique flooding hazards in the Florida Keys, enhanced and uniform communications are critical elements in saving lives and avoiding property damage. Therefore, they would work together to prepare a joint Program for Public Information (PPI). (gage 12 1 ' B The objective of this Program for Public Information is to develop and deliver unified messages to affected residents and businesses so they will take actions to reduce their exposure to the danger and property damage caused by flooding. This Program for Public information was prepared following a step -by -step process encouraged by the Community Rating System. The Monroe County Program for Public Information began with the creation of the PPI Committee with representatives of both public stakeholders and local governmental staff. All Monroe County jurisdictions were invited to an organizational meeting in April of 2016 to discuss the formation of this PPI Committee. It was decided that each community participating in the PPI would have committee members appointed by their local governing boards. More than half of the committee members are from local stakeholder groups which include lending co institutions, the real estate industry, insurance agencies, the University of Florida, and Fair Insurance Rates for Monroe (FIRM). The balance of the committee members consists of floodplain administrators and the Monroe County Public Information Officer. (gage 13 a g e 1 Three meetings of the PPI Committee were conducted to accomplish the following tasks: ® ®® Assess and identify county wide public information needs ® ®® Determine priority groups that warrant special outreach attention ® ®® Formulate important flood - related outcomes and the messages that work toward those outcomes ® ®® Inventory and prioritize existing outreach projects and messages to be disseminated in Monroe County ® ®® Identify new outreach projects to convey messages ® ®® Examine other public information initiatives The meetings were held in a public forum. Notifications of these meetings were published in local newspapers, the Monroe County Website, and emails to local officials, emergency management, and floodplain development staff. The first official PPI Committee meeting was held on June 28, 2016. The meeting was opened with a general overview of the steps found in the above outline. Committee members exchanged ideas regarding current effective outreach, and the need to fill the gaps within outreach projects designed to relay clear messages. The umbrella outcome was that the target groups of critical concern should begin to change their behaviors and act to reduce exposure to flood - related hazards. The second meeting of the PPI committee on August 28, 2016, included the discussion of the inventory of projects and messages currently disseminated by local jurisdictions, stakeholders, and other public entities. Each committee member was given the information summarized in the tables in Section 4.4 Flood Insurance Assessment. The consensus of the committee was that an assessment of the current level of flood insurance coverage should be included in the PPI and monitored by the Committee. At the third meeting on November 15, 2016, the group focused on stakeholders and priority messages. The PPI committee heard two guest speakers, Jonathan Rizzo, a Warning Coordination Meteorologist with NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS), and Julie Botteri, Upper /Middle Keys Stringer and Web Editor for the Monroe County Tourist Development Council (TDC). NWS and TDC have been longtime partners in disseminating messages to visitors, businesses, local government and citizens. It was decided that: ® ®® The PPI should continue the current partnership with the NWS. ® ®® FIRM (Fair Insurance Rates for Monroe) will continue to promote acquisition of flood insurance, provide education, and relay important messages to other groups. ® ®® The University of Florida Extensions will partner with, and endorse, the PPI messages to targeted groups. ® ®® The PPI will support the State of Florida Division of Emergency Management's "Get A Plan!" campaign. This campaign delivers the same messages supported by the committee. A (gage I5 The final meeting was held by the PPI Committee on March 21, 2017. The messages and projects were agreed on and the overall directions for the Multi- jurisdictional Monroe County Program for Public Information were discussed. The Committee unanimously voted to recommend approval of the program to each of the community's governing body. The PPI Committee's final recommendations on target audiences, outcomes, messages, and outreach projects are summarized in Table 8. Minutes of the committee meetings are available separately. Monroe County is in an area of the United States most vulnerable to the threat of flood damage due to tropical cyclones (hurricanes, tropical storms and tropical depressions). The frequency and severity of flooding is expected to increase in the future due to sea level rise. Climate change has also been predicted to cause more frequent and severe rainfall events. Based on SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes) mapping models, the National Hurricane Center has determined that the Florida Keys would be inundated by storm surges from all categories of hurricanes and some tropical storms (see Figure 2, next page). Because of this, the Monroe County Evacuation strategy for a Category 3 or greater storm calls for a mandatory evacuation of all Monroe County residents and visitors. The inherent erratic and irregular tracks of tropical cyclones make it difficult to predict where hurricanes will make landfall. Severe weather is often localized to a specific area due to the geographical makeup of the Florida Keys. The time needed to evacuate all visitors, residents, hospitals, and Special Needs clients could range from 12 hours to more than 30 hours. A problem unique to the Florida Keys — due to its remote location and single evacuation route by land - is the need to begin evacuations well in advance of a storm's projected landfall, before the CD storm's track and intensity can be qualified with any great certainty. During years with multiple CD co storm threats and evacuations for cyclone impacts that ultimately never make landfall, the public becomes very complacent with evacuation warnings, increasing the likelihood that greater numbers of people won't evacuate. (gage 16 Another important factor in the time required to prepare for a hurricane threat and subsequent evacuation is the influx of tourists attending annual events, peak vacation windows and holidays. These reasons, coupled with the limited capacity of US1, the main evacuation route, have compelled Monroe County to implement a phased evacuation system (see Figure 1). Ati4ra TI ; In all storm categories, any visitors (tourists, campers, day -trip travelers, etc.), will be the first to be instructed to evacuate to the mainland in order to ensure their safety. In the event of a rapidly escalating storm, a general evacuation to the mainland would be necessary. It is imperative to have a communications program in place to provide crucial information to help visitors safely exit the Florida Keys. A P age 17 Figure 2 Florida Keys Surge Map Zone i = MM 0 t MM6 Zone 2 MM 6 t MM 40 Zone I MM 40 to MM 63 Zone 4 _ MM 63 to 3-way stop at CR 905A Zone i CR 905A to mainland Monroe County including Ocean Reef Ae ", 0 F� t E X u g ,,. r, r „ Ati4ra TI ; In all storm categories, any visitors (tourists, campers, day -trip travelers, etc.), will be the first to be instructed to evacuate to the mainland in order to ensure their safety. In the event of a rapidly escalating storm, a general evacuation to the mainland would be necessary. It is imperative to have a communications program in place to provide crucial information to help visitors safely exit the Florida Keys. A P age 17 Figure 2 Florida Keys Surge Map The Florida Keys have weathered numerous hurricanes and tropical storms. The paragraphs below describe five most significant storms. The "Big Five," caused the lion's share of the NFIP claims in the Keys. Hurricane Georges — September 1998 Hurricane Georges had winds of up to 155 mph, just below Category 5 status. The eye of the storm passed near Key West. Upon making landfall, Hurricane Georges brought a storm surge of up to 12 feet on Tavernier Key. With waves, as high as 10 feet, many parts of US1 were under water. Georges' waves damaged an estimated 1,536 houses, and destroyed over 170 residences. Hurricane Mitch — November 1998 Mitch formed in the western Caribbean Sea and ultimately struck Florida as a strong tropical storm. Mitch caused a storm surge of up to 4 feet in the lower Florida Keys before making landfall on the Florida west coast. Many buildings that had been damaged by Hurricane Georges were leveled by Mitch. In all, Mitch caused $40 million in damage in Florida and two deaths from drowning. Hurricane Irene —October 1999 Irene struck Florida as a Category 1 hurricane. While moving through the Keys, Irene produced a storm surge of up to 2.3 feet in Key Vaca, while Key West reported a surge of 1.5 feet. Irene produced heavy rainfall in the Keys, including 12 inches of rain in Key West. The rain flooded roads throughout the Keys, prompting officials to close Hurricane Rita — September 2005 Rita passed approximately 45 mi south of Key West as a Category 2 storm. Most of the Keys experienced rainfall accumulations of three or more inches. A maximum storm surge of 5 feet was recorded, with at least 200 flooded homes in a four -block section of Key West. The Upper Keys suffered extensive damage from this storm system. Claims to NFIP for flood damage were submitted from the entire 126 miles stretch of the Florida Keys. Hurricane Wilma — October 2005 Flooding from Wilma occurred twice. First, the approaching storm pushed water across the Florida Keys from south to north. As the storm finally crossed into the Everglades, all the water that had been pushed there by the storm was released as Wilma crossed the peninsula. The water then raced back across the Lower Keys a second time and emptied into the sea. The "backwash" of up to 8 feet constituted the peak of the storm surge. A Page 18 50 miles of US 1. Conclusions: Based on its review of past flooding and the threat of increased hazards due to climate change, the PPI Committee concluded: ® ®® The primary threat to life safety in the Florida Keys is flooding from hurricanes and larger storms that may over wash the islands. ® ®® The best way to protect against this life safety threat is evacuation. There are many obstacles to evacuating the Keys in time, so public information messages on how to do it right are vital. ® ®® The primary threat to property is flooding from storm surge and waves from hurricanes and larger storms. Monroe County is home to many varieties of protected or endangered species of wildlife. These species and their habitats deserve protection. A great deal of emphasis has been placed on the protection of Species Focus Areas in Monroe County. Measures to be taken for the conservation and protection of the natural floodplain and habitat areas include: ® ®® Preventing disturbance to areas that provide critical floodwater storage and filtration functions, including mangroves, salt ponds, saltmarsh and buttonwood wetlands, and freshwater wetlands; ® ®® Preventing excessive clearing and disturbance to natural upland vegetation within the floodplain; ® ®® Minimizing any alteration of natural drainage patterns within the floodplain; ® ®® Protecting areas that provide natural water storage and filtration, such as wetlands In addition to limiting development related activities that have an adverse impact on natural floodplain functions, the 2008 State Florida Statutes, Article XL, Chapter 704.06 (b) and (f) prohibits the dumping of waste or other materials that are detrimental to drainage and flood control. Each community participating in the PPI has multiple ways of reporting illegal dumping. Code enforcement procedures are in place to limit or stop offenders. Conclusions: The PPI Committee concluded that the public information program should encourage citizens to appreciate the natural beauty and environment in the Keys by protecting endangered species and their habitat, preventing detrimental development, and reporting illegal activity or uses of land within the floodplain. A (gage 19 A review of the current flood maps, the history of flooding, and the projections for the future led to the conclusion that there are two types of priority flood hazard areas: The entire area of the Florida Keys is subject to inundation and /or isolation by flooding. People are at risk everywhere. The entire Keys can be considered priority area #1 because the entire Keys would be under water during a Category 5 hurricane and the entire area should be evacuated when a large storm threatens. 2. Priority area #2 is where there is repetitive flooding. Repetitive loss properties are properties where two or more flood insurance claims of at least $1,000 were paid over a ten -year period A review of the communities' flood insurance records found that 96% of the repetitive loss properties got their designation from the Big Five storms discussed above. Mapping repetitive loss areas is a requirement for participation in the Community Rating System. There are separate maps of the four communities' repetitive loss areas. The table below summarizes the areas affected A Page 110 Table 2. Repetitive Loss The committee began assessing the level of flood insurance coverage by looking at three sets of data provided by FEMA: ® ®® Policy coverage by FIRM Zone, ® ®® Coverage by type of occupancy, and ® ®® Coverage for pre -FIRM and post -FIRM buildings It was quickly concluded that coverage by FIRM Zone would not be productive because almost all the policies, like the land in the County, are in the SFHA. Here are the numbers: The other two sets of data were worth assessing. The number of policies by type are compared to the number of buildings by type, using data from the County property assessor. There was not an exact match of occupancy type, but as seen in Table 4, the categories are close: . .0�= Table 5 Category Insurance Property Assessor * Single family home Single family home Single family home, mobile home, Multi family residence 2 -4 family, all other residential Multi- family, condominium, compounds, time share Non - residential Non - residential All nonresidential categories Table 6 Category Pre -FIRM Pre -FIRM Certificate of occupancy issued before 12/31/1974 ** Post -FIRM Post -FIRM Certificate of occupancy issued after 12/31/1974 ** * Key West provided its own data, using similar categories ** All four communities' FIRMS were issued before 12/31/1974. A building constructed after that date is considered Post -FIRM if the FIRM was published earlier. The comparisons of the number of buildings insured under these categories are in the tables on the next two pages. a (gage 111 Table 3. NFIP Policies in the SFHA Coverage by occupancy: The comparisons for single family and nonresidential are useful. From 46% to 53% coverage for single family homes in the four communities. The PPI Committee considered an overall average of 50% coverage in the floodprone Florida Keys to be inadequate. 'Iti , rime 'Ca Policies in Force Building % of Buildings Amount of Coverage Occupancy Number Policies in Force Buildings % of Buildings Amount of Coverage Occupancy 1,753 3,470 51% $425,260,000 $242,590 Multi - Family Number Number Covered Amount Average Single Family 1,738 3,777 46% $480,640,500 $276,548 Multi - Family 1133 209 542% $231,996,600 $204,763 Non - Residential 230 602 38% $88,514,300 $384,845 Total 3,101 4,588 68% $801,151,400 $258,353 Total Residential 2,871 3,986 72% $712,637,100 $248,219 'Iti , rime 'Ca Policies in Force Building % of Buildings Amount of Coverage Occupancy Number Number Covered Amount Average Single Family 1,753 3,470 51% $425,260,000 $242,590 Multi - Family 923 404 228% $149,051,700 $161,486 Non - Residential 324 899 36% $106,279,300 $328,023 Total 3,000 4,773 63% $680,591,000 $226,864 Total 15,296 21,875 70% $3,642,330,900 $238,123 Total Residential 2,676 3,874 69% $574,311,700 $214,616 'Iti , rime 'Ca Nonresidential coverage is 36% and 38% for the two smaller cities, but 64% and 69% for Key West lugs 112 I Total Residential 1 6,812 1 8,627 1 79% 1 $1,585,899,600 1 $232,810 1 Policies in Force Building % of Buildings Amount of Coverage Occupancy Number Number Covered Amount Average Single Family 10,324 19,473 53% $2,458,324,900 $238,117 Multi - Family 3,933 778 506% $820,482,000 $208,615 Non - Residential 1,039 1,624 64% $363,524,000 $349,879 Total 15,296 21,875 70% $3,642,330,900 $238,123 Total Residential 14,257 20,251 70% $3,278,806,900 $229,979 Nonresidential coverage is 36% and 38% for the two smaller cities, but 64% and 69% for Key West lugs 112 I Total Residential 1 6,812 1 8,627 1 79% 1 $1,585,899,600 1 $232,810 1 and the unincorporated areas of the County. The Committee felt that these numbers were also too low. Comparing coverage for multi - family residences is not productive because the policy data includes policies for each condominium unit while the building data is by the number of buildings. The result appears to show that each building has 2 — 5 policies on it. On the other hand, all three categories are useful for comparing the amount of coverage. On the average, coverage appears appropriate for the types of buildings. Multi- family policies have a lower level of coverage, which is expected because they include condo units, which would be of lower value than single - family homes. It was noted that the data provided is for total coverage. The data do not show if policies include contents coverage. Nationally, most policies do not, so it can be assumed that most policies in Monroe County do not have contents coverage. That assumption is supported by the fact that the average policy is below the maximum available for structure -only coverage ($250,000 for 1— 4 family residences and $500,000 for five or more family residential and nonresidential policies). The PPI Committee concluded that the amount of coverage is understandable, but could also be improved, especially if they do not include contents. Pre- and Post -FIRM building coverage: Table 6 on the next page shows the amount coverage based on the age of the buildings. In all four communities, there is a higher level of coverage for post -FIRM buildings. This is probably because they are newer and more likely to still have mortgages, where a policy is required by Federal law. Except in Key West, post -FIRM buildings have higher levels of coverage, which would be expected because they are newer. Key West is a historic City with older properties that hold higher values, which explains why the coverage is higher for pre -FIRM building. However, as noted earlier, the amount coverage on all properties could be improved. Recommendations: The committee recognized that there are challenges to relying on a public information program to improve flood insurance coverage. The decision to purchase an NFIP flood insurance policy is dependent on a myriad of factors, including, but not limited to: ® ®® The increasing cost of flood insurance ® ®® The economic climate ® ®® The time lapse between storm events ® ®® Structure values ® ®® Structures with Federally backed loans ® ®® The availability of private insurance After wrestling with the question: "Is the current NFIP coverage adequate ?" the Committee came to the conclusion that it is, in fact, not adequate. While it is impossible to expect a public information program to control coverage, the committee determined that tracking the number of polices and coverage would clearly be useful. A (gage 113 To that end, the committee recommends that flood insurance policy counts be monitored annually. Each year, the spreadsheet used to create Tables 5 and 6 will be populated with current data and community building counts. The calculations will provide information regarding the general trends of insurance coverage in each jurisdiction that can then be compared to trends in previous years. The annual assessment will also track and report on the outside factors that may be impacting the decision of residents in purchasing new flood insurance policies and the renewal of those already in existence. A (gage 114 Table 6. Summary of Pre-and * d Claims The following recommendations were made by the committee to promote the value of insuring one's property for damage by a flood: 1. Encourage evaluation of flood insurance for sufficient coverage, including that for contents, by renters, owners, nonresident owners and business owners in the repetitive loss areas. 2. Inform all residents that homeowner' insurance policies do not cover damage from flood. 3. Educate property owners and residents in repetitive loss areas of ways to reduce risk from flood which could lower flood insurance premiums. 4. Inform home buyers of the importance of knowing the flood risks and the availability of NFIP flood insurance. 5. Continue partnerships with community stakeholders in order to promote the understanding of how flood insurance works and ways to mitigate risk. Some areas and people deserve more attention than others. For that reason, a Program for Public Information should identify priority areas and audiences that would receive different messages. After reviewing and assessing the flood hazard threats and flood insurance data, the PPI Committee selected the following priority audiences (PAs): PA #1 is priority area #1, i.e., All residents, businesses, and visitors in the Florida Keys. As noted in Section 4, people are at risk everywhere. People throughout the Keys (including tourists) need to know about the flood hazard, evacuation and safety precautions, rules for construction, and protecting natural floodplain functions. PA #2 is priority area #2, the repetitive loss areas. Repetitive loss area owners need information on ways to protect their properties from repeated flooding. PA #3: is key professionals involved with real estate transactions. Real estate and insurance agents along with lenders need to know how to help protect house hunters and other looking for property by advising them of potential flood hazard and the benefits of flood insurance. PA #4: the tourist industry. The ultimate audience is all tourists. However, they are hard to contact and it is difficult for a centralized program to reach them all. Therefore, the audience for PPI CD materials would be the hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that deal directly with tourists. The PPI materials should advise these businesses to give tourists information on the flood hazard, evacuation procedures, and flood safety measures. PA #5 The electronic media, radio and television stations that cover the Keys. They should give listeners and viewers messages on the flood hazard, evacuation procedures, and flood safety measures. PA #6: Building department customers, i.e., everyone considering a construction project, need to know the floodplain management development regulations and the opportunities to include flood mitigation measures in their projects. (gage 115 M The PPI Committee reviewed the outreach efforts currently being implemented by public agencies and private organizations. These are listed in Table 7, below. S . - ! w, � , IIIIIIIiIiIilllllllllllll i ®, I� " r .[tt a n �° i��i " -� I'� . MOCO Building Facts on Flooding MOCO SFHA Brochure Annual MOCO Building Repetitive Loss Outreach MOCO RL Areas Letter Annual MOCO Realtors, Letter and MOCO Building Facts on Flooding Letter Lenders, Insurance Brochure Annual The Citizen Hurricane Guide County -wide Color Brochure Annual Contractor Licensing Board Licensed Contractor County -wide Barometer Annual MOCO EM Evacuation Signs County -wide Signs Ongoing Keynoter MOCO EM Hurricane Survival Guide County -wide Newspaper Annual MOCO MOCO Media Book Media Media Blitz Annual Newspaper Insert/ Citizen, Barometer, MOCO EM Protecting Paradise County -wide Keynoter Annual MOCO EM Channel 76 Broadcast County -wide Television Annual Various Presentations MOCO EM Monroe County EM County -wide Events Annual FDEM State Rack Cards Building Dept. Rack Cards Static Ongoing Media Outlet MOCO Media Guide Media Guide Annual Property Insurance Users FIRM Guide County -wide FIRM Website Ongoing 3 FIRM Mitigation Workshops County -wide Workshop Annual Hurricane Program and NWS Keys Responding to Disasters County -wide Workshop Annual FL Keys Seafood Festival Upper Keys Nautical Market NWS Keys FKCC Community Day County -wide Booths Annual 2 NWS Keys Storm Spotting Class County -wide Workshop Annual Florida Keys NWS NWS Keys Website /publications County -wide Website Ongoing NWS Keys FB and Twitter County -wide Social Media Annual Emergency Management MOCO EM Website County -wide Website Ongoing A (gage 116 A . � . . . f .® I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I IIIII � VIII B I V Illllllvl!I!IIIII I, IIIIIIIIIIIII 'I'I'I'I'I'I'I'I'll IIII, �I d � III,, I' � ®J'I t�ltl �., t I , I i��lllllllllllllll ', MOCO EM Facebook County -wide Social Media Annual Brochure Mailed Marathon Flood Brochure Marathon SFHA Annual Building FEMA Various Brochures Marathon Department Ongoing Tourist Related TDC Prepared in Paradise County -wide Businesses Ongoing Tourist Industry Tourist Related TDC Workshop County -wide Businesses Annual Monroe County /TDC Media Blitz Training County -wide Workshop Annual Keys Energy Bill Stuffer County -wide Brochure Annual Key West RL Brochure Key West Brochure Annual Key West Real Estate Brochure Key West Brochure Ongoing NWS Severe Weather Week County -wide Workshop Annual NWS Social Media Facebook County -wide Social Media Annual TDC Social Media Facebook County -wide Social Media Annual Key West Website County -wide Website Ongoing Brochure to Lenders, Realtors, Insurance Key West Industry Key West Brochure Annual Islamorada EM Events Islamorada Booths Annual Islamorada Newspaper Insert Islamorada Brochure Annual Islamorada RL Brochure Islamorada Brochure Annual Islamorada, Islamorada, Marathon, Marathon, Key West, Key West, MOCO Website MOCO Website Ongoing Monroe County Severe Weather Guide Brochure EM Events County -wide EM Various Publix Hurricane Brochure County -wide Brochure Ongoing Why you need flood Key West insurance Key West Brochure Ongoing MOCO Realtor Flyer MOCO Brochure Ongoing An assessment of these current efforts concluded that they provide a lot of coverage on flood r- insurance and floodplain management issues, in addition to hurricanes and hazard topics. The Committee felt that the following media would be the most effective and supportive of the PPI's messages. (gage 117 News media Media outlets distribute current weather conditions, warnings, evacuation and emergency response information as needed during and after approaching storms. Newspapers post an annual hurricane guide that includes information about warning systems, preparation for storms and storm safety. It is important to note that there are no local TV news stations on the Keys and that all TV broadcast news comes from the Mainland. The communication of pertinent local information becomes a challenge given the difference in the potential impact of storms on the Mainland in comparison to those experienced in the Keys. ® ®® Hurricane Awareness Week ® ®® Social media posts on Facebook and Twitter ® ®® Booths at local events ® ®® Various workshops ® ®® Website information, brochures, videos, up -to -date weather Tourist Development Council (TDC) The Florida Keys TDC has a formal communication program that is closely coordinated with local emergency management officials. The TDC provides crucial information to ensure that visitors are able to safely exit the Florida Keys in the event a hurricane threatens the region. The TDC communicates their messages by: ® ®® Hosting an annual "Hurricane Preparedness Workshop for the Tourism Industry " ® ®® Posting hurricane information on the TDC website homepage for the duration of the hurricane season ® ®® Social media posts to Facebook and Twitter ® ®® Participation in the annual Media Blitz ® ®® Distribution of the "Protecting Paradise" Brochure FIRM (Fair Insurance Rates Monroe) FIRM's outreach program has a strong emphasis on obtaining adequate insurance and the proper rating of risk. This grassroots organization has recently begun offering a series of workshops to help residents understand insurance and the value of mitigation. An "Insurance Users Guide" is posted on the FIRM website in addition to other valuable information related to purchasing flood insurance coverage. A Page 118 Monroe County Emergency Management The Monroe County Emergency Management Division is responsible for the coordination of response to storm events in all of Monroe County. The Division actively promotes storm safety, preparedness, warning, shelters, and evacuation plans. A variety of methods is employed for delivering relevant information regarding storm events, including: ® ®® Interactive Website ® ®® Booths at local events, ® ®® TDC Workshop ® ®® Publications in local newspapers ®® ? ® Alert notifications ® ®® Social media Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) This agency supplies both printed and electronic publications to all communities in Monroe County Topics covered include knowing your hazard, protecting property, protecting people, the importance of insurance and building responsibly. The publications are made available for display and distribution county -wide. Communities The committee also reviewed additional projects currently being implemented by the participating jurisdictions. These projects were largely put in place to meet the CRS and NFIP objectives that include mailers to the SFHA, repetitive loss areas, insurance agents, realtors, and lenders. Other efforts include placement of publications on websites, in local libraries and many public buildings. . Outcomes and Messages The committee came to the following conclusion: Despite the abundant and even redundant messaging in Monroe County by the public and private sector, gaps continue to exist in communicating those messages deemed most important by the PPI Committee. The jurisdictions are doing a good job of filling these gaps. One common problem with the current efforts is that while they are informative, many do not tell the audience what to do. The primary objective of the PPI is to encourage people to change behavior. In order to achieve this behavioral change, the committee selected the outcomes, i.e., what they wanted to actually change. Outcomes are indicators, not exact measures of the success of these campaigns. Progress toward the outcomes will be tracked and reported at an annual committee meeting. From these outcomes, jurisdictions can develop outreach efforts with unified, action oriented messages. Research has shown that behavior is changed when messages are positive. These messages should clearly state what people should do. Research also found that messages need to be repeated and delivered from different sources. The outcomes and messages recommended by this PPI report are in Table 8 on the next pages .; A Page 119 1. Know your flood hazard Outcome: Everyone evacuates when told Message: All areas of the Keys are subject to a flood hazard ✓ ✓ ✓ Outcome: Increased requests for map information Message: Find out what flood zone you are in ✓ ✓ Outcome: Residents in repetitive loss areas are aware of the hazard Message: Your property is in an area that has repetitively flooded ✓ 2. Insure your property Outcome: Improved flood insurance coverage Message: Call your agent to discuss your coverage ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 3. Protect your property from the hazard Outcome: Increase in requests for mitigation assistance Message: Contact your community for flood protection assistance ✓ ✓ ✓ Outcome: Increase in the number of permits for mitigation projects Message: Elevate your equipment above the flood level ✓ 4. Protect people from the hazard Outcome: Increase in the number of peoples signed up to receive alerts. Message: Sign up for alerts ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Outcome: Everyone evacuates when told Message: Prepare a flood evacuation plan ✓ 5. Build responsibly Outcome: Fewer cases of unpermitted work Message: Check with the Floodplain Official before planning a project ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 6. Protect natural floodplain functions Outcome: Increase in reports of illegal activities Message: Keep natural areas undisturbed ✓ ✓ ✓ Message: Report illegal dumping or clearing ✓ 7. Building mitigation Outcome: Decrease in the number of insurance claims Message: Install a permanent flood protection measure on your building ✓ ✓ ✓ 8. Hurricane evacuation —1 Outcome: Everyone evacuates when told Message: Know your evacuation zone ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 9. Hurricane evacuation — 2 Outcome: Everyone evacuates when told Message: Get a mobile flood app on your phone ✓ ✓ ✓ Message: Get a plan ✓ ✓ 10. Licensed Contractors Outcome: Fewer cases of unpermitted work Message: Hire only licensed contractors ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ . Delivering the Messages a Page 120 The committee has recognized that an effective program for communication must be concise and progressive and should take into consideration current trends in the way people get their news. A variety of message delivery methods were discussed. The committee has determined that the following six means of delivery will most effectively reach the primary target audience. Direct Mail Brochures & Letters — Direct mail is an effective means of communication for audiences such as the SFHA and the repetitive loss areas. This focuses on the hazards specific to these areas and can be integrated with Web and Social Media in an effort to direct the recipient to more detailed discussion of topics most important to each of the areas. Brochures and letters can also provide contact information to aid in contacting local officials. The use of QR codes will also be incorporated to solicit the reader's active participation. Informational material in public places — Target audiences were described in some instances as "customers" who frequent businesses or local governments and other public places. Informational material is useful for the tourist industry and residents in order to communicate potential hazard, preparedness and evacuation procedures during hurricane season. Materials placed in many different locations that convey the same messages are likely to have a very high saturation rate for diverse audiences. GET A 1 f 1"LIN 01'' k NN11119R IINi 141UY IDP '.lrllBlil 1, �46;Y_Mi,h.Rr ktli �`R t -- in P ■ Honda Ko «e,..ViS Public workshops — Annual workshops held with the media, tourist industry and local residents provide 2 -way communication between the target groups and local officials. Stakeholders often hold workshops in conjunction with emergency management to convey messages in a unified way. Booths at events — Events and outdoor activities are popular and well attended in the Florida Keys by both residents and visitors alike. Local emergency management departments as well as stakeholders such as the NWS place booths at major festivals and events. A P age 121 I iYC Monroe County does not have local news reporting TV stations. All news is sent from neighboring counties. Since television is still the number one source of news, it is imperative that the media in the surrounding areas be kept abreast of local conditions. Monroe County conducts a "Media Blitz" on an annual basis to ensure that the media has current emergency and contact information. The TV stations are provided with both written and digital material. Monroe County does have TV Channel 76, a local outlet that broadcasts public meetings and pre- recorded material. Internet websites — Today, an overwhelming number of people, including seniors, search the Internet for news and events. Search engines are used as a means to obtain immediate answers to questions and current events. Currently, the only news source outranking the Internet is TV. Locally maintained websites on the Internet can offer readers much more in -depth information regarding the flood hazard, how to prepare for a weather event, protecting property and lives, and a vast array of other flood - related topics. Website information is easily kept up -to -date with the most current information. This is a distinct advantage over printed materials that become quickly outdated and obsolete. In fact, most printed material provides website addresses and tells the reader to "go" to the site for more information. Social and mobile media - Researchers have now begun publishing data on the use of social media in disasters, and lawmakers and security experts have begun to assess how emergency management can best adapt. Michael Beckerman, President and CEO of the Internet Association, told a House °. Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, response, and communication, "The Convergence of Social networks and mobile has thrown the old response playbook out the window." A Pew Research Center study conducted in 2016 in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, states that; "Fully 81% of Americans get at least some of this news through websites, apps or social networking sites. And, this digital news intake is increasingly mobile. Among those who get news both on desktop computers and mobile devices, more than half prefer mobile." A (gage 122 Based on the public information needs assessment and the review of current outreach projects in section 4, the PPI Committee endorsed some current projects, recommended improvements to some, and identified new outreach projects. The projects will include priority messages that encourage taking actions to produce the outcomes identified in Table 8. The main goal of the PPI is to develop a coordinated approach to the communication of public information. This is accomplished by delivering unified messages from multiple sources directed to priority audiences. In order to ensure that there is unified messaging throughout the communities' public information, recommendations are made for the following activities: Map Information Service: Providing accurate hazard information is a vital component in the continuing effort to protect lives and property. All jurisdictions will publicize the availability of personal assistance provided by the FIRMS and understanding other risks associated with flooding and other special flood related hazards. The PPI Committee recommends that, where applicable, the information provided by each community should include the items underlined: ® ®® All FIRM panel information ® ®® FIRM zone and base flood elevation ® ®® Coastal High Hazard Area ® ®® Coastal Barriers Resources Act areas A (gage 123 Table 9. Planned Outreach Projects ® ®® A note that even if a property is outside the SFHA, all parts of the Florida Keys are subject to flooding from a large storm ® ®® Preserved wetlands ® ®® Species focus area Hazard Disclosure: Realtors and prospective buyers are of special concern to all of Monroe County and are identified by the PPI as a priority audience. The PPI Committee recommends that real estate agents be sent a brochure to give to customers looking to purchase property. The brochure advises the buyer to contact their local floodplain official to "Know Before You Buy." Realtors should also receive a publication endorsed by the National Association of Realtors and FEMA outlining what they should know and say to customers about flood risk and flood insurance. Website: As discussed earlier, the Internet is fast becoming one of the primary means in which people access news and information. Websites allow for more in -depth exploration into topics of concern to each audience reader and can be tailored to local conditions. The PPI Committee recommends that all four communities' websites and Monroe County Emergency Management website include links to other websites that have more detailed information on the PPI's priority topics and messages. The websites should be checked monthly to ensure the links are still working. They should be updated annually to reflect the changes recommended by the PPI committee during the annual evaluation process. Flood Protection Assistance: One of the priority messages determined by the committee is mitigation for flood prone structures. Flood protection messages are included in the outreach to residents of the repetitive loss areas and SFHA. The outreach projects proposed in this PPI should include reminders that property owners are encouraged to call their community's floodplain official for assistance with flood and repetitive flooding issues on their property. The staff providing the assistance should remind everyone that they face a flood hazard regardless of their location. They should encourage property owners to consider mitigation efforts both large and small in order to reduce flooding loss. They should also promote those retrofitting measures that can impact flood insurance premiums. Drainage Maintenance: The State of Florida regulation prohibits dumping of non -solid waste in any waterway and all local jurisdictions have local codes that prohibit dumping of solid waste on any property, whether privately or publicly owned. One of the PPI priority messages is to encourage citizens to report illegal dumping. That message should be included in all outreach projects possible, including those disseminated to all people, not just those going to the SFHA or repetitive loss areas. Page 124 Table 10 identifies the annual projects that the committee decided would most be appropriate to deliver the important messages outlined in Table 8. Many of the projects are endorsed by locally recognized stakeholders and community elected officials. Some of the projects were already being implemented while others were created to fill "gaps" recognized by the committee. e CRS OP 1. Facts on Flooding Brochure* Coordinator Mailed to everyone May OF Extensions CRS OP 2. Repetitive Loss Brochure Coordinator Mailed to RLAs June FIRM CRS Key real estate OP 3. Know Before You Buy Coordinator professionals Ongoing FIRM TDC, MOCO PIO, Workshop Tourist OP 4. TDC Hurricane Workshop NWS Industry May NWS OP 5. NWS Hurricane Awareness NWS Week long campaign May NWS TDC, MOCO OP 6. Media Blitz Week -Media PIO, Face to Face meetings Guide NWS with all media May NWS CRS OP 7. Brochures Permitting Dept. Coordinator Displays public places Ongoing FDEM Hurricane 60K Distributed to all OP 8. The Citizen Hurricane Guide Guide businesses county -wide Ongoing The Citizen Mitigation workshops OP 9. FIRM Workshops FIRM held county -wide 3 Annual FIRM Workshop with local OP 10. TDC Website TDC tourist industry Ongoing Building Department Contractor OP 11. KW Licensed Contractor MOCO Hurricane Guides May License Board OP 12. Evacuation Signs MOCO EM 120 Miles of US 1 Ongoing OP 13. Channel 76 MOCO TV MOCO EM Local TV Broadcast Ongoing Website accessed by all OP 14. NWS Website NWS residents and visitors Ongoing NWS Booth at events county- 35 Various NWS OP 15. County -wide Events MOCO EM wide. Events FDEM CRS Emailed directly to real Realtor OP 16. Help Customers Realtors Coordinator estate agents August Association Note: Outreach projects OP 1 - OP16 in Table 10 benefit all of the participating communities. *OP 1— Endorsed by local elected official. A (gage 125 The committee acknowledged that different types of projects are more effective than others for reaching the priority audiences. The project types are: Targeted projects (T) — Projects distributed directly to all the members of a priority audience. The messages clearly explain that the recipient is receiving the messages because he /she is part of a priority audience. General Outreach Projects (G) — These are newspaper articles, signs, tweets, presentations, etc. that reach out to the audiences, but don't necessarily reach all the members. Informational Projects (1) — Typically these are brochures, flyers and similar documents that are in a public place or made available on request. Unlike General Outreach, the audience has to seek out the messages in Informational Projects. For CRS purposes, websites are considered to be informational projects. Table 11 demonstrates the project types. A (gage 126 Table 11. Type of ojec Projects in Table 10 are to be implemented every year. They convey flood protection measures that are appropriate for motivating people to take steps to protect themselves and their property from damage prior to a flooding event. Flood response messages are delivered just prior to, during, and after a storm or flood. The messages typically tell people to take short term precautions to prepare for and recover from an event. The committee reviewed a variety of flood response outcomes and selected the messages in Table 12 below: (gage 127 1. Know your hazard Outcome: Reduced number of rumor related calls to hotline Message: Know where to turn for reliable and up -to -date information ✓ ✓ Message: Sign up for alerts @ Monroecountyem.com ✓ ✓ 3. Protect property from hazard c Outcome: Less damage from flying debris ,° Message: Trim your trees and bring in outdoor furniture ✓ ✓ L_ Message: Put shutters or plywood on windows ✓ L_ L _ Outcome: Visitors stay informed and evacuate as asked O v Message: Visit the Florida Keys Website V/ V/ tW 4. Protect people from hazard Outcome: People follow evacuation procedures Message: Evacuate if told to do so ✓ ✓ Message: Mobile home residents must evacuate for all hurricanes V/ V/ 8. Hurricane evacuation Outcome: People evacuating don't get stranded Message: Do not get on the road without a chosen destination ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 9. Hurricane preparedness Outcome: Mobile homes do not become debris Message: Check vour mobile home tie -downs ✓ (gage 127 Page 128 Outcome: People buy insurance Protect yourself from the next flood with flood insurance 4. Protect people from hazard Outcome: People stay safe Message: Monitor TV, Radio and Internet for when is it safe to re- enter Outcome: Access to information from mobile device N Message: MON Check-in with family and friends by texting or social media S. Build responsibility Outcome: Flooded buildings properly repaired Message: Hire a licensed contractor Message: Contact local floodplain official for information on ✓ regulation 1 W 7. Building Mitigation Bui ings Wit or repair stronger and safer Message: Contact the local floodplain official about grants to rebuild. Message: Talk to your insurance agent. Your flood policy could help with the cost to elevate your building. Page 128 Based on the public information needs assessment in Section 4 and review of current flood response projects, the PPI Committee concluded that the projects listed in Tables 13 relayed priority messages that are consistent with the finding of the assessment. As with the annual public information projects, the committee found that many of the existing projects relay and repeat the important messages for flood response both before and after a storm or flooding event. The committee also determined that along with the priority topics of know your hazard, insure your property, protect your property and people, that special attention should be given to 3 additional topics, which are hurricane evacuation, hurricane preparedness and building mitigation. The desired outcomes and messages are included in Table 12. Repairing f A Page 129 Table 13. Flood Response P F.=- A Since pre -event projects need to be delivered quickly and reach as many audiences as possible, the committee decided that unified messages should be delivered via TV new, radio, internet and social media. The information delivered by these methods can be updated quickly to reflect current conditions. The communities in the FL Keys coordinate with the NWS Key West, the TDC and the Monroe County Emergency Management Director and the Monroe County PIO to ensure that messages are consistent. Table 14 identifies the projects that the committee decided would be appropriate to deliver the important messages when preparing for a storm event and to help with the recovery efforts. The committee recommended a "print ready' package of various materials to be distributed to various locations and to hand out to residents returning to the Keys after an evacuation. The committee will work with the Monroe County PIO to further develop handouts for FRPs 6 and 7. A Page 130 Table Ion Response of c Delivery Everyone Visitors MOCO PIO Businesses FRP 1. News Releases NWS Mobile home residents NWS Everyone MOCO PIO Visitors NWS Businesses NWS FRP 2. Social Media TDC Mobile home residents TDC FRP 3. TDC Website TDC Visitors TDC Everyone Visitors Businesses FRP 4. MOCO EM Website MOCO PIO Mobile home residents NWS Everyone Visitors FRP 5. NWS Hurricane Businesses Awareness NWS Mobile home residents NWS Everyone Visitors TDC, MOCO Businesses NWS FRP 6. Handouts various PIO, Mobile home residents FEMA locations NWS Returning residents Contractor Licensing FEMA FRP 7. Handouts at re -entry MOCO MOCO EM Contractor Licensing A Page 130 Flood response messages will be disseminated as deemed appropriate by the Monroe County Emergency Manager and the Monroe County Public Information Officer (PIO). Jurisdictions and TDC will support and mirror the projects and messages. The general projects are listed in Table 14 The Monroe County Public Information Officer in conjunction with the County Division of Emergency Management will work together to update the flood response projects annuallyjust prior to hurricane season. FRP #1 News Release —The MOCO Emergency Manager and the MOCO PIO will identify which news releases will include the messages in Table 10. FRP #2 Social Media Messages and Posts —The MOCO Emergency Manager, MOCO PIO, TDC and NWS Key West will coordinate posts on Facebook and tweets on Twitter. The messages will be repeated and updated to reflect current conditions. FRP #3 TDC Website —The TDC will work closely with the MOCO Emergency Division, the MOCOPIO and the NWS Key West to updated the website with the appropriate messages for the tourist industry and visitors. FRP #4 MOCO Website — All messages for residents and visitors will be repeated on the MOCO website. All jurisdictions are encouraged to provide links to the MOCO website with the goal being unified and constant messages appropriate for the flood event. FRP #5 NWS Key West Website — Messages concerning threatening weather, preparedness and recovery will be posted on the website and consistent with the flood response messages in all other flood response projects. FRP #6 Handouts in Various Locations — All jurisdictions keep FEMA, NWS Key West and locally tailored brochures on -hand ready to distribute both after a storm or flooding event. FRP #7 Handouts @ re- entry — The Monroe County Sherriff's Office issues re -entry stickers to residents of Monroe County. Flood response projects will be delivered at the checkpoint as appropriate and deemed necessary. A (gage 131 Handouts for FRP 6 and 7 will be reviewed annually and updated with more current or relative brochures projects. The following publications will be printed and distributed as appropriate for each flood event: ® ®® Business Pre -Post Storm Recovery Brochure — NWS Stakeholder ® ®® Florida DPBR Tips for Hiring a Contractor— DPBR Stakeholder ® ®® FEMA /NFIO Build Back Safer and Stronger Brochure — FEMA Stakeholder ® ®® Repairing Your Flooded Home Guide — American Red Cross Stakeholder ® ®® FEMA Increased Cost of Compliance Coverage — FEMA Stakeholder ® ®® Protecting your Home and Property from Flood Damage — FEMA Stakeholder ® ®® Managing Your Flood Insurance Claim Flyer — FloodSmart Stakeholder ® ®® Flood Preparation and Safety Flyer - FloodSmart Stakeholder ® ®® Flood Insurance Claim Handbook — FEMA Stakeholder It was concluded that although most of the projects and messages would be appropriate for all audiences, there are certain audiences that need to be reached with specific messages. Table 15 below is an accounting of the types of projects deemed most effective in reaching the target audiences. The description of each type of project is included in the narrative prior to Table 11. (gage 132 . Implementation and Evaluation The PPI committee will meet in May and November of each year to review activities and evaluate the program. In May, the committee will review community reports on progress toward the desired outcomes of the messages. The community reports will show the tracking of statistical outcomes, where available, including but not limited to: ® ®® Requests for FIRM information ® ®® Numbers of flood insurance policies, by category ® ®® Flood protection assistance request ® ®® Number of permits for mitigating floodprone property ® ®® Number of people registered for alerts ® ®® Evaluation of code cases for flood related unpermitted work ® ®® Code cases for illegal dumping or clearing ® ®® Number of mitigated repetitive loss structures At the November meeting, the PPI committee will review insurance coverage trends and evaluate projects. An evaluation report will be prepared and sent to the governing boards of each jurisdiction. Where the evaluation indicates, revisions are warranted, such as replacing a project or redirecting messages, the committee will vote to adjust the projects accordingly. In the years where there is a storm event the committee will review emergency management after action reports to evaluate: ® ®® Evacuation statistics including occupancy of shelters and traffic counts on US 1 if available ® ®® General information on the extent of flooding ® ®® General information on injuries and property damage ® ®® Statistics on flood - related construction and violations for unpermitted work Every five years, the entire PPI will be updated and insurance coverage evaluated. (gage 133 • *• • * • • • * �� *. • • 11: • • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA RESOLUTION NO. -2017 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, ADOPTING THE MONROE COUNTY MULTI- JURISDICTIONAL PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION, PROVIDING NEW COMPREHENSIVE OUTREACH STRATEGY OPTIONS FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF FLOOD HAZARD INFORMATION TO RESIDENTS AND NON - RESIDENTS AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, Monroe County is currently a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP); and WHEREAS, Monroe County became eligible and entered FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS) in 2016; and WHEREAS, Monroe County's voluntary participation in the NFIP's Community Rating System (CRS) provides residents of unincorporated Monroe County with a 20% discount on a standard NFIP flood insurance policy in the Special Flood Hazard Area; and WHEREAS, The Monroe County Commission supports the goal of a CRS Program for Public Information to broaden public understanding of flood hazards, mapping, planning, and insurance; and WHEREAS, The Monroe County Program for Public Information Committee has identified important messages to be communicated to target audiences in a Multi jurisdictional Program for Public Information; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Section 1. The Board hereby adopts the Monroe County Multi jurisdictional Program for Public Information, a copy of which is attached hereto. Section 2. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption. g 11 I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida, at a regular meeting held on the 12 day of April, 2017. Mayor George Neugent Mayor Pro Tem David Rice Commissioner Danny L. Kolhage Commissioner Heather Carruthers Commissioner Sylvia J. Murphy BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA MILIA Mayor George Neugent (SEAL) ATTEST: KEVIN MADOK, CLERK Deputy Clerk MONROE COUNTY A ORNEY ;A P20VEID AS T RM: A 'iTE E ASSISTAN C __ 1,? 3 , �ORNEY TT Date --- I