The city of Palm Coast has announced it’s recognizing Flood Awareness and Safety Week.

  • Flood Awareness and Safety Week in Palm Coast
  • Officials want to encourage residents to get flood insurance
  • Residents should also know floodplain areas

Officials say it’s a way to encourage residents to get flood insurance and familiarize themselves with floodplain areas ahead of hurricane season.

Nick Rushiniak and his wife are looking for a new home in Palm Coast. He said that finding a location outside a flood zone is a plus.

“We lived in South Florida previously, so we know about flooding,” Rushiniak said. “We know about hurricanes, so that’s a concern of ours.”

The couple plans to move from North Carolina.

“We would look for a house that’s sloping properly so the water is not coming towards the house, but draining away from the house,” he said.

Rushiniak and his wife said they support the city’s proclamation for flood safety and awareness.

City floodplain coordinator Denise Bevans’ team will lead the effort during awareness week. One the heels of Hurricane Matthew, the team is emphasizing the need for flood insurance.

"We're really grateful overall we faired fairly well from hurricane Matthew when it comes to flood but we're always preparing and making sure that people are aware of how they can control their destiny with flood insurance," Bevans said.

Everywhere in Florida is vulnerable to flooding because of the water, she said.

"If you have a severe event and you're having inches and inches of water being dumped on your city the whole city is a concern.” 

Salt water canals with sea walls have been put into place in flood-prone areas to keep homes from flooding.

"There's no ultimate 100-percent confident that we can prevent floods in the city of Palm coast," Bevans said.

Hurricane Matthew dumped about seven feet of water into their saltwater canals, but there were no severe floods. However, according to Bevans, only about 4,000 people in a city with a population of 100,000 have flood insurance.

"We really believe that everyone should have flood insurance in Palm Coast. It's really affordable, very affordable, and you have the peace of mind," she said.

The Rushiniaks are making it a priority as soon as they find their new permanent home.

"The home is probably one of our biggest investment," said Rushiniak.

The city is holding the Flood Friday event on March 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at City Hall.

Residents can learn about the flood zones were they live.

The event is open to the public.