Floodplain Management in the Context of Urban and Rural Areas: A Study in FEMA Region-6

Floodplain management, which focuses on mitigating flood hazards and enhancing the flood resilience in communities, is an important part of emergency management and disaster risk reduction. This study explores the floodplain management in the context of urban and rural areas within FEMA Region 6. Using a mixed methods approach, this thesis highlights the various challenges faced by the floodplain administrators, their perceived expertise in their role, and training needs. A survey was conducted using Qualtrics and the survey questionnaire was sent to 2,680 floodplain administrators. A total of 547 participants responded to the survey, and of that group, 359 responded to the open-ended questions. The analysis of the study is based on the responses of the floodplain administrators from both urban and rural areas. Qualitative analyses were used to identify key themes pertaining to the challenges, expertise, and training needs noted by the survey participants. Next, the responses were categorized based on urban and rural participants and comparisons were made between frequency and percentage of response per theme. According to qualitative analysis, the most common challenges faced by the floodplain administrators were related to mapping, funding and training. Additionally, many floodplain administrators noted possessing expertise in the areas of Base Flood Elevation (BFE) determination, communication, and local policy. The results of the analyses also found that the participants desired further training primarily in the areas of creating maps and grant management. Additionally, the findings of the study indicate that most of the identified challenges, expertise and training needs of the floodplain administrators vary between urban and rural settings. The research recommends the practical implication for improving flood hazard mitigation through enhancing expertise and providing more training to the floodplain administrators.