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1. What is flood resilience?

Resilience is the ability of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and system within St. Augustine to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of acute shocks (a sudden, sharp event that can threaten the city) and chronic stresses (stresses weaken the fabric of the city on a day-to-day basis) they experience. 

The City of St. Augustine faces many challenges when it comes to both coastal and rain driven flooding, as a majority of the city is located in a flood plain. The City of St. Augustine is proactively identifying areas of risks as it relates to the inevitable effects of sea level rise. 

Residents are encouraged to join in the city's efforts for flood resilience for their own property by researching flood mitigation strategies and providing feedback to the city on resilience based capital improvement projects. See links below to familiarize with the city's resilience efforts:

• Flood Mitigation Design Guidance for Historic Residences booklet PDF
• Resilient Heritage in the Nation’s Oldest City – a grant funded study
• Flooding and Historic Properties: Resilient Heritage in the Nation's Oldest City with links to story maps
• Resilient Heritage in the Nation’s Oldest City Story Map

2. What is the city doing about the flooding?

Projects

To try and mitigate the city-wide flooding that occurs yearly, Capital Improvement Projects (CIP's) must be planned, designed and constructed. A Capital Improvement Project is any major improvement to City facilities and infrastructure. Capital Improvement Projects are varied, so some may require years of planning and construction while others may be completed in a shorter timeframe. The majority of resilience-based CIP's are years-long efforts that utilize grant funding and from both the state and federal level along with a cost share out of the city's yearly budget. 

Resident's can see the breakdown of the city's annual budget here.

Residents can visit the links below to learn more about current CIP's to mitigate flooding and past CIP's that have been completed:

• Current projects
• Completed Projects

Maintenance

Other efforts to attempt to mitigate flooding include regular maintenance on the city's storm drains and basins done by the city's Transmission and Distribution department. If you would like to request a storm drain be maintained or report flooding in your area, please fill out the form: 

https://www.citystaug.com/FormCenter/Public-Works-7/Report-Flooding-70

Updates

Every quarter a presentation is given to the city's commission regarding Public Works and Utilities Updates, which includes a breakdown of Capital Improvement Projects. 

To view the quarterly update presentations, select the link here.

To watch the latest update given to commission regarding Capital Improvement Projects, click here.

3. What can I do to protect my home from flooding?

Be Prepared

Before a flood event occurs, residents can take these property protection measures to try and mitigate the damage to their property from flooding. Residents can also request a meeting with the city's Building Official or Chief Resilience Officer to determine the best flood mitigation strategies for their private property. Please email stormwater@citystaug.com or call 904-825-1065 to request a site visit.

Additionally, on the City's weekly radio show The Breakroom, Chief Resilient Officer Jessica Beach has been interviewed about storm preparation, where to get information about storms, understanding what happens with flooding throughout the city, and how to be a good neighbor. Listen to the most recent interview here.

Be Proactive

There are a variety of flood mitigation strategies residents can use to protect their homes and property from flooding. A good place for residents to start with flood protection is first to determine the elevation of their property. Residents of the City of St. Augustine can contact the Planning and Building department at 904-825-1065 to request a Flood Elevation Certificate for an official report on their property's elevation. 

Residents can also access these tools below to determine property elevation estimates and to see if their home is in a flood zone:

• Search for any property within the United States to look at potential flood risk indicators and ways to protect your property: www.floodfactor.com
• Provides outreach and education and a number of flood proofing type products for commercial and residential properties: www.floodproofing.com 
• St. Johns County Flood Viewer to search for any properties and determine which flood zone they are located in. You can access the link here: https://www.gis.sjcfl.us/floodviewer

Residents also should study the Flood Mitigation Design Guidance for Historic Residences booklet. This guidance document was prepared in response to flood damage by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma in 2017 in the city’s Abbott Tract, Lincolnville, and Model Land Company Historic Districts. However, the information presented in this document can be applied to all of the city's historic properties.

Residents are also encouraged to view the Resilient Heritage in the Nation’s Oldest City, a grant funded study that captured the need for flooding resilience in the City of St. Augustine.

Be present

The City of St. Augustine holds commission meetings twice a month. Residents can come and voice their concerns and also learn about what the city is doing regarding flood mitigation projects, among many other topics ongoing in the city. Residents are strongly encouraged to attend and be present for these conversations, and to let their voices be heard.

There is an upcoming Resilience Workshop scheduled for March 28, 2022 at 3:30 P.M. that will be dedicated to discussing the city's efforts for flood mitigation and ongoing Capital Improvement Projects to address the flooding. Watch the previous Resilience Workshop here and feel free to send in your feedback via email to stormwater@citystaug.com