FEMA: Residents Should Get Required Permits Before Rebuilding

COLUMBIA, South Carolina, Oct. 31 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release:

Hurricane Florence survivors in South Carolina should contact their local building officials to obtain permits before they consider new construction or repairs on disaster damaged property. Construction and repair should begin only after owners have obtained permits.

Obtaining building permits is an important step for those with homes or businesses located within a 100-year floodplain--land that is predicted to flood during a 100-year storm and has a one-percent chance of occurring in any given year.

Permits protect owners, residents, communities and their buildings by making sure construction meets current building codes, standards, flood ordinances and construction techniques. Permits also provide a permanent record of compliance with elevation, and/or retrofitting requirements, which is useful information when selling a home and necessary for obtaining a flood insurance rating.

Local floodplain managers can provide information about a property's floodplain and flooding risk.

Local permit offices can provide suggestions or literature on how to better protect one's home or business from future disaster-related damage, as well as information on selecting licensed contractors and protection against unscrupulous contractors.

Additional information on the National Flood Insurance Program can be found at

fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program. To learn more about flood maps visit floodsmart.gov.

For more information on Hurricane Florence and South Carolina recovery, visit the S.C. Emergency Management Division website at scemd.org on social media (@SCEMD on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), or FEMA's Hurricane Florence disaster webpage at www.fema.gov/disaster/4394, or Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA, and the FEMA Region 4 Twitter account at twitter.com/FEMARegion4.