Beware the Flood

A flood, or any other natural disaster, can destroy your nonprofit. But there are some things you can do to mitigate the risk.

Step One sounds obvious: Do NOT locate your facility in a flood plain. If an area has flooded before, it will flood again.

“But FEMA and the building codes people say I am above the 100-year flood line.”

That means nothing. FEMA measures the peak flood level, called the stage, every year. Then, every 25 years or so, they figure the mean and standard deviation and use that to determine the 99% probability flood stage and plot that against the terrain and publish the map.Flood Map

There are a couple of problems with this. First, they assume a normal distribution. The distribution of flood levels is not “normal”, it has a “fat tail.” So the probability of exceeding a certain higher level is higher than published.

Second, they do not make adjustments for upstream development. New buildings and parking lots mean faster runoff. Trees and vegetation are removed. Streams are straightened. Levees are built (for the purpose of pushing the flood away from them and towards you.) Fields are tiled. All of these increase the downstream flood probability and severity.

So, how do you know if you are at risk? Stand at your site and look around. If you are on flat terrain, between water and higher ground, you are at risk. The closer you are in height to the water, the higher the risk. Your horizontal distance from the water means exactly nothing.

I heard a homeowner say, “I am over a mile from the river. I will not have a problem.” His home was eight feet below the top of the levee. The next day the river topped the levee by 12 feet. The 20 feet of water in his house convinced him of his error.

“But, I must locate in the flood plain. That is where my clients are located. There is no land in our town not at risk.”

Then proceed to the next steps.

Step Two: Plan for it.

While tornados, earthquakes, and meteor strikes come suddenly, floods and hurricanes usually provide some warning. So plan what you will do when the threat arises.

Make certain that all of your critical data is backed up, with duplicates in other locations. Actually, you will want duplicates in other cities and states. Natural disasters can cover a very wide area. At a minimum, you will want to back up your articles of incorporation, by-laws, IRS approvals, minutes of the board meetings back to the time dirt was formed, prior tax returns, and financial data. And don’t forget your donor, client, and contact lists. Remember passwords to databases.

You can also use the cloud for backup, but you should not depend on it alone.

Then move as many of your physical valuables as possible out of the danger zone. Rent a truck. Put the high value items in it. Computers, copies, moveable furniture. Anything you want to keep. Park the truck on a hill. Lock it.

Step Three: Get flood insurance.

If you are inside the FEMA flood plain, you may be able to get federal support for insurance. If you are outside the zone, the insurance is very inexpensive.

After the 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the YMCA was back in business within 4 weeks because they had flood insurance. They had been flooded to the second story, destroying their basketball gym, running tracks, swimming pool, and weight room. Other nonprofits, without flood insurance, were still struggling 5 years later.

When it happens: During the flood heroic period, organize your volunteers to provide services through the county Emergency Volunteer Center. You can be reimbursed for their services by FEMA at a very attractive rate (currently it’s $20 per volunteer hour.) I know of one nonprofit that is still operating on their reimbursements for volunteers 5 years after a flood.

You will be glad for the forethought. Floods will happen, the only question is when.