Floodplain Management FAQs & Information

All manufactured/mobile home residents in the county must evacuate at ALL evacuation levels!!

What is your Community's flood risk?
There are different reasons a community may flood; storm surge, river flooding or heavy rainfall. Low-lying or poorly drained areas can also increase a community's flood risk. Due to the relatively flat terrain across Florida, it is complicated to drain accumulated water. When rivers rise, water tends to spread out far from riverbanks. In the case of the 1997-98 El Niño floods, rising rivers and repeated periods of heavy rainfall combined to pool water over land located miles away from rivers. In fact, normally small rivers turned into vast lakes.

Pooling of water poses a significant risk, not as much from swift moving water, but more from one’s inability to judge water depth. Water only inches deep can be next to water that is several feet deep. To protect yourself, learn what flood threats affect your community:

  • Determine if there are rivers or creeks that flood frequently.
  • Is your home located in a low-lying area?
  • Determine your home's elevation.

Visit the Manatee County website to view the Public Safety Map Viewer. This interactive map allows citizens to search for their property and identifies the location of the 100 year flood zone and evacuation zones.

 

Turn Around Don't Drown!

As little as one foot of (moving) water can move most cars off the road.

  • Just six inches of fast-moving flood water can sweep a person off his or her feet.
  • Most flood-related deaths occur at night and are vehicular.
  • Urban and small stream flash floods often occur in less than one hour.
  • Tropical cyclones pose significant risk well inland due to fresh water flooding.
What Actions Should You Take To Be Prepared?
  • Determine whether you live in a potential flood zone.
  • Keep abreast of road conditions through the news media. Move to a safe area before access is cut off by flood water.
  • Develop a flood emergency action plan.
  • Have FLOOD INSURANCE. Flood damage is not usually covered by homeowners insurance. Do not make assumptions. Check your policy. Flood Insurance can have a 30 day waiting period. Depending on your Flood Insurance Policy you may cover both structural damage and contents to certain maximums.

     

Flood Warning and Response
Door-to-door warning sometimes can also be accomplished with law enforcement or fire department vehicles public address systems.  Flood warnings can be received directly from the National Weather Service by NOAA Weather Alert Receivers. These units are available from local electronic stores.   Manatee County Emergency Management has the ability to warn geographical areas via an automated telephone notification system. When the Emergency Operations Center is activated, Emergency Management will post the latest weather advisory and opened shelters on its website, Emergency Management homepage. The storm track will also be provided for a tropical storm or hurricane. Manatee Government Access (MGA-TV), the county cable channel will be utilized to broadcast information to the public. Additional television and radio news sources include:

  • Bay News 9
  • WFTS Channel 7
  • WFLA Channel 8
  • WTSP Channel 10
  • WTVT Channel 13
  • WJIS-FM 88.1
  • WMTX-FM 100.7
  • WYNF-FM 105.9
  • WCTQ-FM 106.5
  • WFLA-AM 970
  • WBRD-AM 1420
  • WWPR-AM 1490