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CERTIFIED FLOODPLAIN MANAGER CFM
CERTIFICATION BUNDLE 2026 MULTIPLE
PRACTICE QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
GRADED A+
⩥ What is basic rule #2 on what needs a permit in the floodplain? Answer: A permit is required for all development in the SFHA. ⩥ What is Basic Rule #3? Answer: Development must not increase the flood hazard on other properties ⩥ In a riverine AE Zone with a base flood elevation, what must a developer show in order to demonstrate that he is meeting Basic Rule #3? Answer: He must conduct an encroachment review that demonstrates that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development: · Will not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point within the community, and · Is consistent with the technical criteria contained in Chapter 5 (Hydraulic Analyses) of the Flood Insurance Study: Guidelines and Specifications for Study Contractors, FEMA-37, 1995.
⩥ What does Basic rule #4 say about new buildings in A Zones? Answer: New, substantially improved or substantially damaged buildings must be protected from damage by the base flood. ⩥ What does Basic rule #5 say about new buildings in V Zones? Answer: There are special building requirements in addition to the building protection requirements for buildings in A Zones. Due to wave impacts, V Zones have special building protection standards in addition to the requirements for A zones. ⩥ What is the basic rule on improvements and repairs to existing buildings in the floodplain? Answer: If the cost of improvements or the cost to repair the damage exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the building, it must be brought up to current floodplain management standards. ⩥ What is the basic rule on calculating the cost of the damage? Answer: Substantial damage is determined regardless of the actual cost to the owner. You must figure the true cost of bringing the building back to its pre-damage condition using qualified labor and materials obtained at market prices. ⩥ What are the three most common types of flooding? Answer: Riverine, coastal, shallow
⩥ What is one of the problems with constructing seawalls to protect buildings from flooding or erosion? Answer: It can accelerate erosion on properties at the end of the wall. ⩥ What are the five main causes of flood damage? Answer: 1. Hydrodynamic forces
- Debris impact
- Hydrostatic forces
- Soaking
- Sediments and contaminants ⩥ Standing water as little as _____ feet deep can collapse the walls of a frame house. Answer: 3 feet ⩥ What are some of the safety and health hazards that accompany floods? Answer: 1. Disruption of public utilities
- Electrocution
- Contamination of water supplies
- Fire
- Animal carcasses, garbage, and ponds; which can become breeding grounds for germs and mosquitoes
- Mold, mildew, and bacteria that grow in damp, flooded areas
- Contaminated air from dirty heating ducts
- Stress and mental health problems ⩥ Prior to the 1960s what was the primary way to reduce flood losses? Answer: Structural flood control projects ⩥ What is the Unified National Program for Floodplain Management's definition of "floodplain management"? Answer: "A decision-making process that aims to achieve the wise use of the nation's floodplains" ⩥ What are the two primary goals of floodplain management? Answer:
- To reduce the loss of life, disruption, and damage caused by floods
- To preserve and restore the natural resources and functions of floodplains ⩥ What areas are conductive to flash flooding? Answer: 1. Hilly area with steep slopes and narrow valleys
- Urban areas with large amounts of impervious surfaces and storm sewers
- Area downstream of dams or subject to ice jams ⩥ Is erosion only a threat in coastal areas? Answer: No. Riverine erosion can move stream channels and undercut structures.
- Mattresses
- Books
- Electrical appliances
- Gasoline engines ⩥ What are examples of non-structural flood protection measures? Answer: 1. Regulations to prohibit development in high-hazard areas.
- Building codes requiring flood-resistant construction for new buildings in flood prone areas.
- Acquisition and relocation of buildings in high hazard areas.
- Installing flood warning systems.
- Controlling stormwater runoff.
- Providing self-help advice to property owners. ⩥ What is the Unified National Program for Floodplain Management's four main floodplain management strategies? Answer: 1. Modify human susceptibility to flood damage
- Modify the impact of flooding
- Modify flooding itself
- Preserve and restore natural resources ⩥ What are the objectives of the NFIP? Answer: The National Flood Insurance Act created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to:
- Transfer the costs of private property flood losses from the taxpayers to floodplain property owners through flood insurance premiums.
- Provide floodplain residents and property owners with financial aid after floods, especially smaller floods that do not warrant federal disaster aid.
- Guide development away from flood hazard areas.
- Require that new and substantially improved buildings be constructed in ways that would minimize or prevent damage in a flood. ⩥ What are the three basic parts of the NFIP? Answer: 1. Communities, states, and Federal agencies use them as the basis for regulating new flood prone construction
- Insurance agents use them rating flood insurance policies
- Lenders and Federal agencies use them to determine when flood insurance must be purchased as a condition of a loan or financial assistance ⩥ What should happen to buildings in NFIP communities over time? Answer: Over time, exposure to flood damage should be reduced, as the older pre-FIRM buildings are replaced by post-FIRM buildings. Eventually a community should have only post-FIRM building's subject to little or no flood damage. ⩥ What types of governmental bodies are "communities" by the NFIP? Answer: These governmental bodies vary from state to state, but can include cities, towns, villages, townships, counties, parishes, special
- No Federal disaster assistance may be provided to repair insurable buildings located in identified flood hazard areas for damage caused by a flood.
- No Federal mortgage insurance or loan guarantees may be provided in identified flood hazard areas. This includes policies written by FHA, VA, and others. Federally insured or regulated lending institutions, such as, banks and credit unions, must notify applicants seeking loans for insurable buildings in flood hazard areas that:
- There is a flood hazard
- The property is not eligible for Federal disaster relief. ⩥ Where does most of the money come from to pay expenses of the NFIP? Answer: Premium income. The NFIP has been self-supporting since 1986. ⩥ How many communities currently participate in the NFIP? Answer: More than 19, ⩥ What is a "pre-FIRM" building? Answer: A building built before the effective date of the community's Flood Insurance Rate Map. ⩥ Is there any relation between how a community regulates new construction and flood insurance rates? Answer: Yes. Buildings built in
accordance with the community's regulations have a lower risk of flooding and can be insured at lower rates. ⩥ List two things your community committed itself to when it joined the NFIP. Answer: 1. Issuing or denying floodplain development/building permits
- Inspecting all development to assure compliance with the local ordinance
- Maintaining records of floodplain development
- Assisting in the preparation and revision of floodplain maps.
- Helping residents obtain information on flood hazards, floodplain map data, flood insurance, and proper construction measures. ⩥ Insurance companies set flood insurance rates and coverage rules. True or False? Answer: False. Flood insurance rates and coverage rules are set by FEMA's Federal Insurance Administration. ⩥ What can FEMA do to encourage a community to adequately enforce its floodplain management regulations? Answer: 1. If the community is in the Community Rating System, it can reclassify it to a Class 10 (no insurance premium discount).
- The community can be put on probation.
- The community can be suspended.
⩥ BFE is the acronym for ____________(three words). Answer: base flood elevation ⩥ What are the components of a Flood Insurance Study? Answer: · The FIS - Flood Insurance Study report · The FIRM - Flood Insurance Rate Map · The Flood Boundary and Floodway Map, which is included in studies prepared before 1986 (Since 1986, floodways are shown on the FIRM) ⩥ For purposes of a riverine flood study, _________ is the study of the distribution and circulation of water in the environment, and ___________ is the study of fluids in motion and how water will flow through the channel. Answer: Hydrology, Hydraulics ⩥ 1. The rate at which runoff (an amount of water) flows downstream is called the flood _________. Answer: discharge ⩥ What probable effect does increase in urbanization within a community or upstream of it have on the stream discharges within that community? Answer: Stream discharges usually will increase as a consequence to the increase in urbanization within a community or upstream of it. ⩥ What consequence on flood water level of a stream would usually occur when a bridge is constructed over a stream? Answer: A hydraulic
analysis is always required to determine the effect of any bridge construction over a stream. However, construction over a stream is considered an obstruction to the flow and therefore may increase the flood water level upstream of the construction. ⩥ To locate the true elevations at a site, surveyors have established ___________ marks also known as ______ marks. Answer: elevation reference, bench ⩥ 1. Cross sections describe the ________ of the floodplain. Answer: shape ⩥ What is the datum used for your FIS, FIRM, and profiles? Answer: Depends on the community. Check the Legend or Key to your FIRM ⩥ Flood profiles are developed by plotting the flood elevations at the _____________ and connecting the plotted points. Answer: cross sections ⩥ To make a floodplain map, the base flood elevations are plotted on a _________ map or a _______ map. Answer: topographic, contour ⩥ The _________ is defined as the stream channel and that portion of the adjacent floodplain that must remain open to permit passage of the base flood. Answer: floodway
because it occurs in areas where there is no channel or identifiable flow path. ⩥ Flood studies that do not identify BFEs are called ___________. Answer: approximate studies ⩥ Prior to 1986, the maps published with an FIS are the old format FIRM and the ________________. Since 1986, the map published with an FIS is the ______. Answer: FBFM or Floodway Map, new format FIRM ⩥ 1. Is your community's FIRM a flat or Z-fold map? 2. How many panels does your firm have? 3. What is the map scale of your FIRM? Answer: All 3 questions: Depends on the community ⩥ What does an elevation reference mark look like on a FIRM? Answer: Locations are identified with a small "x" and the designation "ERM" or "RM" followed by a number. ⩥ What is the FIRM effective date for your community? Answer: Depends on the community. This is the date of the first FIRM for your community, it is an important date to know as it determines whether buildings are considered pre-FIRM or post-FIRM. If you are unsure of the date, contact your FEMA Regional Office or State NFIP Coordinator.
⩥ How is a floodway shown on the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map? Answer: It's the white area adjacent to and including the channel. ⩥ How is a floodway shown on the new format FIRM? Answer: It is a shaded area with diagonal lines. ⩥ A Zone C on an old format FIRM is shown as a Zone _____on the new format FIRM. Answer: X ⩥ CBRA stands for ______________. Answer: Coastal Barriers Resources Act ⩥ What communities' floodplains are shown on a countywide FIRM? Answer: All the communities in the county, even those currently not in the NFIP. ⩥ 1. Floodways are shown along the ________ toe of a levee on the FIRM. Answer: landside ⩥ 1. Areas behind recognized levees are designated as __________. Answer: Shaded Zone X ⩥ The base flood elevation is the elevation of the _______ year flood or the ____% annual chance flood. Answer: 100- , 1
⩥ Most permanent FIS elevation reference marks are referenced to what datum? Answer: National Geodetic Vertical Datum or NGVD ⩥ A hydraulic study uses the hydrology, cross section information, and stream characteristics to determine the flood ____________. Answer: elevations (also velocities and floodplain widths) ⩥ Cross sections are shown on which map? Answer: Floodway Map - New format FIRM ⩥ Flood profiles are used to determine what? Answer: Flood elevations along a river or a stream between cross sections. ⩥ In riverine situations, the floodplain is divided into two separate parts for floodplain management purposes. These parts are the ________ and the ________. Answer: floodway , flood fringe ⩥ Based on the minimum NFIP standard, if the flood fringe were completely filled, how high could the base flood elevation go up? Answer: One foot ⩥ What FIRM zone has wave heights greater than three feet? Answer: V Zone
⩥ Instead of using a base flood elevation, some shallow flooding areas are defined using a base flood ______-. Answer: depth ⩥ An approximate study shows the base _________ but does not show the base flood ___________. Answer: Floodplain , elevation ⩥ How many digits are there in the NFIP community identification number? Answer: They always have six digits. This is important to avoid confusion with the five-digit countywide FIRM Number. The community identification number does not include the panel number and other numbers that appear near it on the FIRM title block. ⩥ What is an AH Zone? Answer: Shallow flooding base floodplain with base flood elevations. ⩥ What was the problem with the way the floodway was shown on the old format FLOOD Boundary and Floodway Maps? Answer: The site area looked like it was a C Zone outside the floodplain. Also, people who had only a FIRM did not know of the floodway hazard. ⩥ The new format FIRMs include: Answer: · Floodways and floodplain management information · Simplified flood insurance zones
