Flood Map Modernization: Federal Emergency Management Agency's Implementation of a National Strategy
Published: 2005-07-12T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Floods inflict more damage and economic losses upon the United States than any other natural disaster. During the 10 years from fiscal year 1992 through fiscal year 2001, flooding resulted in approximately $55 billion in damages. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for managing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The program uses flood maps to identify the areas at greatest risk of flooding and make insurance available to property owners to protect themselves from flood losses. According to FEMA, many of the nation's flood maps are more than 10 years old and no longer reflect current flood hazard risks because of erosion and changes in drainage patterns. Moreover, because many flood maps were created or last updated, there have been improvements in the techniques for assessing and displaying flood risks. This testimony is based on GAO's findings and recommendations in its March 2004 report related to (1) how map modernization intended to improve the accuracy and accessibility of the nation's flood maps, (2) what the expected benefits of more accurate and accessible flood maps are, and (3) to what extent FEMA's strategy for managing the map modernization program support the achievement of these benefits.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Through map modernization, FEMA intends to produce more accurate and accessible flood maps by using advanced technology to gather accurate data and make the flood maps available on the Internet. For example, displaying map data in digital Geographic Information Systems format permits consistent, accurate display, and ready electronic retrieval of a variety of map features, including elevation data and the location of key infrastructure, such as utilities. FEMA expects that by producing more accurate and accessible digital flood maps through map modernization, the nation will benefit in three ways. First, communities can use more accurate digital maps to reduce flood risk within floodplains by more effectively regulating development through zoning and building standards. Second, accurate digital maps available on the Internet will facilitate the identification of property owners who are statutorily required to obtain or who would be best served by obtaining flood insurance. Third, accurate and precise data will help national, state, and local officials to accurately locate infrastructure and transportation systems (e.g., power plants, sewage treatment plants, railroads, bridges, and ports) to help mitigate and manage risk for multiple hazards, both natural and man-made. At the time of GAO's review, FEMA had not yet established clear standards for the types, quantity, and specificity of data collection and analysis associated with different levels of flood risk. We recommended that FEMA develop standards to better ensure that data collection and analysis is consistent for all communities with similar risk and that it is using its resources efficiently while producing maps that are accurate and useful for communities at different levels of flood risk. In November 2004, FEMA issued its Multi-Year Flood Hazard Identification Plan. The plan describes FEMA's strategy for addressing GAO's recommendation by using varying types of data collection and analysis techniques to develop flood hazard data in order to relate the level of study and level of risk for each county. GAO concluded that FEMA's performance measures would not effectively measure the extent to which the agency's map modernization program would result in its primary intended benefits. As a result, GAO recommended that FEMA develop and implement useful performance measures. In response to GAO's recommendation, FEMA has set target percentages in its Multi-Year Flood Hazard Identification Plan for four key performance indicators in fiscal years 2006 through 2009. FEMA's four indicators are (1) Population with Digital GIS Flood Data Available Online, (2) Population with Adopted Maps that Meet Quality Standards, (3) Leveraged Digital GIS Flood Data, and (4) Appropriated Funds Sent to Coordinating Technical Partners.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I appreciate the opportunity to participate in today’s hearing to discuss the  Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) national flood map  modernization program. My testimony is primarily based on our March  2004 report on FEMA’s map modernization efforts.
Floods inflict more damage and economic losses upon the United States  than any other natural disaster. During the 10 years from fiscal year 1992  through fiscal year 2001, flooding caused over 900 deaths and resulted in  approximately $55 billion in damages. Since its inception 36 years ago, the  National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has combined the development  of flood maps to identify the areas at greatest risk of flooding with  mitigation efforts to reduce or eliminate flood risks to people and  property and the availability of insurance that property owners can  purchase to protect themselves from flood losses. The flood insurance  program has paid about $12 billion in insurance claims, primarily from  policyholder premiums, that otherwise would have been paid, at least in  part, from taxpayer-funded disaster relief.
Accurate flood maps that identify the areas at greatest risk of flooding are  the foundation of the NFIP. The maps are principally used by (1) the  approximately 20,000 communities participating in the NFIP to adopt and  enforce the program’s minimum building standards for new construction  within the maps’ identified floodplains, (2) FEMA to  develop accurate flood insurance policy rates based on flood risk, and (3)  federally regulated mortgage lenders to identify those property owners  who are statutorily required to purchase federal flood insurance. Under  the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended, property owners  whose properties are within the designated floodplain and have a  mortgage from a federally regulated financial institution are required to  purchase federal flood insurance.
Flood maps can become outdated for a variety of reasons, such as erosion  or community growth and development that can affect the drainage  patterns of rainwater. Thus, flood maps must be periodically updated to  assess and map changes in the boundaries of floodplains that result from  community growth, development, erosion, and other factors that affect the  boundaries of areas at risk for flooding.
With congressional support and funding, last year FEMA embarked on a $1  billion, 5-year effort to update the nation’s flood maps. Today, I am here to  discuss the findings and recommendations of our March 2004 report. My  remarks today will focus on (1) how map modernization is intended to  improve the accuracy and accessibility of the nation’s flood maps; (2) what  the expected benefits of more accurate and accessible flood maps are; and  (3) to what extent FEMA’s strategy for managing the map modernization  program supports the achievement of these benefits.
To answer these questions, we analyzed available information from FEMA  on the program’s purpose, objectives, and status and met with agency  officials in headquarters and in the regional offices to discuss the  program’s progress. We also conducted site visits to states and  communities that have already begun to modernize their flood maps and  interviewed industry organizations such as the Association of State Flood  Plain Managers, the National Association of Flood and Stormwater  Management Agencies, and the National Emergency Management  Association. We conducted our work from April 2003 to March 2004 in  accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
subsections: section_title: Map Modernization Intends to Use Advanced Technologies to Produce More Accurate and Accessible Digital Flood Maps:
paragraphs: Through map modernization, FEMA intends to produce more accurate and  accessible flood maps by using advanced technology to gather accurate  data and make the resulting information available on the Internet. Many of  the flood maps in FEMA’s inventory do not accurately reflect the true  flood hazard risks because over time, new development and other factors  altered watersheds and floodplains faster than the maps could be updated.  Prior to fiscal year 2004, the $35 million to $50 million in annual flood  insurance policy fees had been the only source of funding for updating  flood maps, and according to FEMA, the agency had not been able to keep  the maps updated with the funds available. As a result, at the time of our  review, nearly 70 percent of the nation’s approximately 92,222 flood maps  were more than 10 years old and many contain inaccurate data, according  to FEMA.
Over time, physical conditions in watersheds and floodplains can change,  and improvements in the techniques for assessing and displaying flood  risks are made. FEMA plans to use the latest technology, such as GIS, to  create accurate digital flood maps. GIS technology provides the  foundation for achieving FEMA’s goals of melding different types and  sources of data to create the new digital flood maps and making the new  digital flood maps available to a variety of users over the Internet. The  primary function of GIS is to link multiple digital databases and  graphically display that information as maps with potentially many  different types of “layers” of information. When layers of information are  formatted using the same standards, users can potentially overlay various  layers of information about any number of specific topics to examine how  the layers interrelate. Each layer of a GIS map represents a particular  “theme” or feature, and one layer could be derived from a data source  completely different from the other layers. For example, one theme could  represent all the streets in a specified area. Another theme could  correspond to the topography or elevation data of an area, and others  could show aerial photography and streams in the same area. These  themes are all key elements needed to create flood maps that accurately  depict floodplains and can be used to identify properties in these areas. In  preparing for full-scale implementation of map modernization, FEMA had  established standards and graphic specifications for digital flood maps  created with GIS.
GIS technology also enables the creation of more accurate and accessible  maps than would be possible with older mapping methods and technology.  The majority of FEMA’s flood map inventory was produced using manual  techniques that have inherent accuracy and accessibility limitations. For  example, in creating traditional paper flood maps, field measurements  taken by surveyors would have been transferred by hand to paper base  maps. If the paper base map contained any inaccuracies, then the field- survey data could be shown in the wrong place on the final flood map.  This would then result in floodplain boundaries being shown in the wrong  place.
By their nature, paper flood maps have limited accessibility as compared  with a digital map that can be made available on the Internet. The  expansion of Internet connectivity in recent years has substantially  enhanced the potential value of digital maps created with GIS because  now it is possible to locate and connect data from many distinct GIS  databases to develop analytical information on almost any topic that is  associated with physical locations. Digital flood maps created according to  FEMA’s standards are intended to provide users not only with the ability  to determine the flood zone and base flood elevations for a particular  location, but also with the ability to access other information like road,  stream, and public land survey data. Communities could use this  information for a variety of purposes, including decisions on future  development and evacuation routes.
As part of map modernization, FEMA has promoted the use of a variety of  advanced technologies to improve the accuracy of flood maps. In recent  years, for example, where it deems it appropriate, FEMA has promoted the  use of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) remote sensing technologies  to generate highly detailed, digital elevation data.
Elevation data are a key component needed to determine flood risk and  identify floodplain boundaries. According to FEMA, for very flat areas  where small changes in elevation can have a large impact on where flood  plain boundaries are drawn, LIDAR can provide the level of detail needed  to accurately delineate these boundaries. Communities can also use  detailed, digital elevation data for planning and land development  purposes.
subsections: section_title: FEMA Expects Map Modernization to Increase the Likelihood Maps Will Be Used for Risk Management
paragraphs: FEMA expects map modernization to increase the likelihood that the more  accurate and accessible maps will be used for risk management purposes.  Specifically, FEMA expects the new maps to be used to (1) improve flood  mitigation, (2) increase flood insurance participation, and (3) improve  “multi-hazard” mitigation and risk management capabilities. First, FEMA  expects communities to be able to use these new and revised maps to  better manage and mitigate flood risk by regulating floodplain  development through building codes, ordinances, and regulations. Second,  the new maps also have the potential to help increase flood insurance  participation because they will more accurately identify those properties  that are in the floodplain and whose owners would be required to  purchase flood insurance. Third, the data and infrastructure developed by  map modernization is also expected to help national, state, and local  officials mitigate and manage risk from multiple hazards, both natural and  man-made. Accurate digital maps can provide more precise data on such  things as the location of hazardous material facilities, power plants,  railroads, and airports to state and national officials for planning  development as well as to assess internal weaknesses and evacuation  routes.
section_title: Map Modernization Is Expected to Improve Flood Mitigation
paragraphs: The more accurate and updated flood hazard information produced  through map modernization is expected to help improve flood mitigation  in participating communities. The NFIP requires participating  communities to adopt and enforce building standards based on the  floodplain boundaries and base flood elevations when maps are updated.  For example, the lowest floor of structures in new construction must be  elevated to at least the base flood elevations identified on the maps.  FEMA’s policy is to monitor communities to ensure that they have adopted  building standards that meet the minimum NFIP criteria and to ensure that  they are effectively enforcing these standards. If communities fail to  establish and enforce minimum NFIP flood plain building standards,  FEMA can suspend availability of federal flood insurance.
Communities also may use updated flood hazard data to take actions to  mitigate flooding that go beyond adopting the building standards required  by the NFIP. For example, communities may use the data from the maps  to identify where to conduct capital improvement projects designed to  mitigate flooding of structures in the floodplain. In addition, FEMA has  established a Community Rating System that provides discounts on flood  insurance premiums for those communities that take mitigation actions  beyond those required by the NFIP.
section_title: Map Modernization Is Expected to Help Increase Flood Insurance Participation
paragraphs: Map modernization has the potential to help increase flood insurance  participation. The accuracy of the new maps should better identify at-risk  property owners who would be best served by obtaining flood insurance  whether or not the owners would be required to purchase insurance under  the NFIP’s mandatory purchase requirement. Moreover, the digital, GIS- based maps should make flood risk information more accessible to a  variety of users such as lenders and community officials who could  conduct targeted outreach to these property owners.
It is important to note, however, that FEMA, states, and communities do  not have the authority to ensure that property owners who are subject to  the mandatory purchase of flood insurance requirement actually purchase  flood insurance. It is the federally regulated lenders’ responsibility to  ensure that borrowers purchase flood insurance and that the insurance  policy is maintained throughout the loan’s life as each new lender  servicing the loan becomes aware that the affected property is at risk for  flooding. Furthermore, owners of properties without mortgages or  properties with mortgages held by unregulated lenders are not required to  purchase flood insurance, even if the properties are in floodplains.
section_title: Map Modernization Is Expected to Improve Multi-Hazard Mitigation and Risk Management Capabilities
paragraphs: FEMA expects that the data developed, collected, and distributed through  map modernization will help national, state, and local emergency  managers mitigate and manage risk posed by other natural and man-made  hazards. Accurate digital base maps provide more precise data to state and  national officials for planning, such as the location of hazardous material  facilities, power plants, utility distribution facilities, and other  infrastructure (bridges, sewage treatment plants, buildings, and  structures). According to FEMA, map modernization will also support  DHS’s overall goal to reduce the nation’s vulnerability to terrorism by  providing GIS data and capabilities to other departmental functions. For  example, more accurate information on transportation systems such as  railroads, airports, harbors, ports, and waterways should be helpful in  assessing internal weaknesses and evacuation routes.
section_title: FEMA’s Strategy for Map Modernization Shows Promise, but Challenges Remain
paragraphs: FEMA’s strategy for managing map modernization is intended to support  the achievement of the expected program benefits of improved flood  mitigation, increased NFIP insurance participation, and improved multi- hazard mitigation and risk management capabilities. However, in  reviewing FEMA’s approach to implementing the strategy, we identified  several challenges that could hamper the agency’s efforts. FEMA’s  approach is based on four objectives. Two objectives FEMA hopes to  achieve through map modernization—building and maintaining a premier  data collection and delivery system and expanding outreach and better  informing the user community—have the potential to improve the use of  flood maps for improved flood mitigation and increased NFIP  participation, as well as multi-hazard risk management. The other two  objectives—building and maintaining mutually beneficial partnerships and  achieving effective program management—are intended to facilitate the  achievement of the first two objectives and their intended benefits  efficiently and effectively.
subsections: section_title: In Its Efforts to Establish a New Data System, FEMA Had Not Yet Established Data Standards for Different Levels of Risk
paragraphs: The goal of FEMA’s objective to develop a new data system using the  latest technology is more efficient production, delivery and, thereby, the  use of flood maps. As discussed previously, FEMA hopes to accomplish  this by using geographic information systems technology that provides the  foundation for the production and delivery of more accurate digital flood  maps and multi-hazard data that is more accessible over the Internet.
In developing the new data system to update flood maps across the nation,  FEMA’s intent is to develop and incorporate flood risk data that are of a  level of specificity and accuracy commensurate with communities’ relative  flood risks. According to FEMA, there is a direct relationship between the  types, quantity, and detail of the data and analysis used for map  development and the costs associated with obtaining and analyzing those  data. FEMA believes it needs to strike a balance between the relative flood  risk faced by individual communities and the level of analysis and effort  needed to develop reliable flood hazard data if it is to update the nation’s  maps efficiently and effectively.
FEMA ranked all 3,146 counties from highest to lowest based on a number  of factors, including, among other things, population, growth trends,  housing units, flood insurance policies and claims, repetitive loss  properties, and flood disasters. On the basis of this ranking, FEMA  established mapping priorities. However, at the time of our review, FEMA  had not established standards on the appropriate data and level of analysis  required to develop maps based on risk level. FEMA had historically  applied the same minimum standards for all flood maps and supporting  data. FEMA’s Guidelines and Specifications for Flood Hazard Mapping  Partners provided guidance for selecting the level of analysis and effort to  produce flood hazard data and the guidelines had generally been used on a  case-by-case basis. We found that the guidelines do not specify standards  to be used for all mapping projects within a given risk category and  concluded that, without establishing standards for different categories of  risk, FEMA could not ensure that it uses the same level of data collection  and analysis across all communities within the same risk category. These  standards could also provide a consistent basis for estimating the costs of  developing maps in each risk category. At the time of our review, FEMA  had not yet developed draft standards or incorporated this task into its  implementation plan. As a result, we recommended that FEMA develop  and implement data standards that would enable FEMA, its contractor,  and its state and local partners to identify and use consistent data  collection and analysis methods for communities with similar risk.
In November 2004, FEMA issued its Multi-Year Flood Hazard Identification  Plan. The plan describes FEMA’s strategy for updating flood maps used for  NFIP purposes and discusses the varying types of data collection and  analysis techniques the agency plans to use to develop flood hazard data in  order to relate the level of study and level of risk for each county.
section_title: FEMA’s Objective to Expand Outreach Efforts Recognizes the Agency Must Rely on Others to Achieve Map Modernization Benefits
paragraphs: FEMA’s objective to expand the scope and frequency of its outreach  efforts is intended to increase community and public acceptance of  revised maps and use of those maps. Historically, FEMA has only  contacted communities when initiating remapping and again when  preliminary maps are completed. These expanded outreach efforts reflect  FEMA’s understanding that it is dependent on others to achieve the  benefits of map modernization. For example, under the structure of the  NFIP, FEMA is dependent on communities to adopt and enforce FEMA’s  minimum building standards and on mortgage lenders to ensure  compliance with mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements. To  expand the scope of its outreach efforts, FEMA plans to involve a wide  variety of community participants—e.g., mayors, emergency managers,  lenders, property owners, insurance agents, and developers—in the  mapping process. To expand the frequency of outreach, FEMA intends to  increase community involvement, awareness, and participation  throughout the entire flood mapping process. Through a continual  education process, FEMA’s goal is to inform property owners and others  potentially affected by remapping efforts of steps they can take to mitigate  the risk of flooding, the types of damage and costs caused by flooding, and  the benefits of flood insurance.
According to FEMA, if a community is involved in and understands the  map modernization process, the community is more likely to accept and  trust the accuracy of the final, revised maps and is more likely to use the  maps’ hazard data to mitigate natural and man-made disasters. Conversely,  if affected property owners do not understand why their communities are  being mapped (or remapped) or why their property is now in a flood zone,  the unexpected additional expense of new or increased flood insurance  premiums can form the basis of significant community opposition to map  modernization activities and lead to formal appeals, litigation, and delays  in implementing map changes.
FEMA’s expanded outreach efforts are intended to educate the public of  the potential flood risk in communities and to encourage them to take  action. Communities that participate in the NFIP are required to establish  floodplain management ordinances that require new and substantially  improved structures in newly designated floodplains to meet NFIP  building standards. However, if a property was not located in the  floodplain in the old map but is in the floodplain in the new revised map,  NFIP floodplain management regulations do not require those owners to  implement mitigation measures unless they make substantial  improvements to the structure. FEMA cannot compel affected property  owners to take steps to protect their properties against flood risks or to  purchase flood insurance. Under current notification requirements,  federally regulated lenders, not FEMA, serve as the primary channel for  notifying property owners whose mortgaged properties are subject to  flood insurance requirements. When property owners seek new financing,  through purchase or refinancing, federally regulated mortgage lenders are  required to determine if the property is in the floodplain and, if so, require  the purchase of flood insurance. Lenders are not required to monitor map  changes or to notify property owners with existing mortgages whose  properties are identified in a floodplain by remapping if they are not aware  of the change in status.
Nonetheless, if federally regulated lenders become aware of flood map  changes that affect properties for which they hold mortgages through  FEMA notifications or flood zone determination companies, then they  must notify the property owner and require the purchase of flood  insurance. The information that must be provided to property owners is  limited to notifying property owners that their structure is in a floodplain,  providing a definition of a flood plain, and requiring the purchase of flood  insurance if they live in a participating NFIP community. As a result,  FEMA’s outreach efforts are important for supplementing the formal  requirements for notifying communities and property owners of map  changes.
section_title: FEMA’s Strategy for Partnering with States and Local Communities Does Not Include Communities with Few Resources to Assist in Flood Mapping
paragraphs: FEMA’s objective for building and maintaining mutually beneficial  partnerships is intended to facilitate and support the efficient production  and effective use of flood maps. According to FEMA, local, state, and  federal partners that have invested resources and assisted in managing  mapping activities have the potential to positively affect the detail,  accuracy, and quantity of the data collected and improve how these data  are used. As part of their strategy for partnering, FEMA provides guidance  to the states on how to develop “business plans” that document planned  efforts to develop states’ and communities’ capability and capacity to  oversee the collection, analysis, and implementation of flood data in their  state and community and to justify funding for these efforts. According to  FEMA, 38 states had begun drafting such plans. FEMA intends to use these  state business plans to help prioritize its continuing efforts to develop map  modernization partners.
Through its CTP program, FEMA has developed partnerships with a  variety of states and communities that have developed their own data and  provided their own funds to help update local flood maps. Since 2000,  FEMA has leveraged millions of dollars in funding from 171 partners  (states and local communities) for producing maps through its CTP  program. For example, from fiscal years 2000 to 2002, FEMA used $70  million of its federal map modernization funding along with state and local  funds to develop what FEMA has estimated to be more than $155 million  worth of new mapping data. According to FEMA, partnering has other  benefits as well. For example, in the long-term, those states and  communities with whom FEMA has established partnerships may be more  likely to accept final map changes, expand their capabilities, and assume  greater responsibility for periodically developing and incorporating  updated flood data, resulting in cost savings to FEMA.
Some states and communities with few resources and technical capacities  or little history of flood mapping activities are likely to pose a challenge to  FEMA’s ability to fund and implement mapping activities. For example, we  talked with flood management officials in several smaller communities in  Montgomery County, Texas; Santa Cruz County, Arizona; and Larkspur,  Colorado. These officials said that their communities lacked either the  funding needed to develop flood data, the technological capability to  develop digital flood data and use geospatial information systems, or, in  some cases, the community support needed to conduct mapping activities.  One approach for obtaining additional resources, capabilities, and  community support would be for FEMA to facilitate coordination with  other agencies within the state that have a stake in, or could benefit from,  mapping activities. For example, state departments of transportation can  benefit from information in FEMA’s geospatial information system, such  as elevation data, in planning and building state roads and bridges. North  Carolina was able to get its state transportation department to help fund  the development of elevation data used for flood maps. At the time of our  review, FEMA had not yet developed a strategy for how to partner with  communities that do not have the resources, capabilities, or motivation to  initiate and sustain mapping activities. Such a strategy could focus on how  to assist these potential partners in garnering community resources and  developing technological capabilities, how to coordinate with other  agencies in their state, and how to integrate these efforts with FEMA’s  community outreach efforts to gain community support for mapping  activities. As a result, we recommended that FEMA develop and  implement strategies for partnering with state and local entities with  varying levels of capabilities and resources. FEMA’s Plan does not  explicitly address such strategies. For fiscal year 2004, the Plan notes that,  nationwide, dollars leveraged from local, non-FEMA sources substantially  exceeded the target level of 20 percent, with 36 percent of the effort  leveraged from other partners. In 4 of the 10 FEMA regions the leverage  exceeded 40 percent. However, in 3 of the 10 FEMA regions the leverage  was less than 10 percent. This experience, along with a projected 50  percent increase in the total cost of the program, supports the need for  strategies to address disparities and maximize map modernization  stakeholders’ contributions to the program.
section_title: Program Management Contract Is Performance- Based, but FEMA May Have Difficulty Overseeing the Contract and Measuring Achievement of Program Objectives:
paragraphs: In March 2004, FEMA awarded a performance-based contract to obtain  assistance from a nationwide mapping contractor to manage tasks  associated with the significant expansion of the map modernization  program. Unlike many traditional government service contracts, which  emphasize inputs rather than outcomes, a performance-based contracting  approach gives the contractor the flexibility to determine how best to  achieve the outcomes and links payment to the contractor’s ability to  achieve these outcomes—an approach supported by our past work in  federal contracting. Overseeing these types of contracts requires agency  staff with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to monitor the contractor’s  efforts using performance measures that accurately measure agreed-upon  outcomes.
We concluded that FEMA might be limited in its ability to effectively  manage the contract, as well as the significant expansion of tasks  associated with a five-fold increase in funding and related mapping  activities that will continue to be performed by agency staff. These tasks  include managing grants for many new mapping partners and  administering contracts with independent firms to develop and process a  significantly larger quantity of flood data to support local efforts. A staffing  needs assessment completed by FEMA in December 2003 identifies a need  for an additional 75 staff with additional skills, including contracting and  program management capabilities. In appropriating fiscal year 2004 map  modernization funds, Congress included a provision that would allow  FEMA to use up to 3 percent, or $6 million, for administrative purposes. As  of March 2004, FEMA had filled 1 of the 75 positions by reallocating  existing resources. At the time of our review FEMA planned to fill another  33 positions using the administrative funding identified in the fiscal year  2004 budget. In addition, FEMA also planned to fill an additional 10  positions by moving staff from other FEMA departments or filling  vacancies. However, at the time of our review, FEMA had not yet  established a plan for filling the remaining 31 headquarters and regional  positions. As a result, we recommended that FEMA ensure that it has the  staff capacity to effectively implement the nationwide mapping contract  and the overall map modernization program.
One element of effective program management is establishing  performance measures to determine how well FEMA is achieving its map  modernization program objectives. FEMA had established performance  measures for all four of its program objectives. However, we concluded  that FEMA’s measures for two of those objectives that directly support the  use of flood maps for risk management—to develop a premier data system  and to expand and better inform the user community were not clearly  defined or fully developed. FEMA’s principal measure for developing and  maintaining a premier data collection and delivery system is the percent of  the national population with community-adopted, GIS data-based flood  maps. However, this measure does not indicate whether the maps  themselves meet any FEMA-established standards for accuracy (because  FEMA had not yet defined the minimum level of data collection and  analysis for communities with similar risk).
To measure the progress and success of expanding and better informing  the user community, FEMA established performance measures related to  the percent increase in communities’ awareness and use of new maps.  FEMA plans to use surveys as the primary means of measuring increased  community awareness and use of the new maps. However, FEMA had not  yet fully developed an operational definition of how it plans to measure  “awareness” or “use,” for example, that reflect mitigation steps taken or  the purchase of flood insurance. Because the link between revising maps  and the use of maps in terms of increased NFIP participation is not direct,  we recognized that it may be a challenge to develop a performance  measure that accurately reflects the impact on NFIP participation rates of  efforts to expand and improve outreach. Nonetheless, without developing  such a measure (or measures), we concluded that FEMA would be less  able to ensure that its map modernization program will have resulted in  one of FEMA’s primary intended benefits. As a result, we recommended  that FEMA develop and implement useful performance measures that  define FEMA’ s progress in increasing stakeholders’ awareness and use of  the new maps, including improved mitigation efforts and increased  participation rates in purchasing flood insurance.
In response to our recommendation, FEMA’s set goals in its November  2004 Multi-year Flood Hazard Identification Plan to improve public safety  through the availability of reliable flood risk data. Specifically, FEMA  plans to increase the safety for at least 85 percent of the U.S. population  through availability of accurate flood risk data in GIS format. To achieve  this goal, FEMA has set targets for key performance indicators (KPI)  through fiscal year 2009 (production is scheduled for completion in fiscal  year 2010). FEMA’s four KPIs are (1) Population with Digital GIS Flood  Data Available Online, (2) Population with Adopted Maps that Meet  Quality Standards, (3) Percent of Effort Leveraged; that is, state and local  resources provided for map modernization as a percentage of FEMA  resources provided, and (4) Appropriated Funds Sent to CTPs. To track its  progress of map modernization annually, FEMA set target percentages for  achieving these performance indicators in fiscal years 2006 through 2009.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, this concludes my prepared  statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions you and the  Committee Members may have.
section_title: Contact and Staff Acknowledgements
paragraphs: For further information about this statement, please contact William O.  Jenkins, Jr. Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues on (202) 512- 8777 or jenkinswo@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of  Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page  of this report. GAO staff who made major contributors to this testimony  included Grace Coleman, Christopher Keisling, Raul Quintero, and John  Vocino.
This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the  United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further  permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or  other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to  reproduce this material separately.