FEMA flood zone rules in Kanawha County, WV — also called floodplain regulations or special flood hazard area (SFHA) rules — determine flood insurance requirements and elevation standards for new construction.
Flash flooding is West Virginia's defining hazard. Kanawha County enforces FEMA floodplain standards, and a floodplain development permit is required before building or filling in a mapped special flood hazard area.
Kanawha County and Charleston participate in the National Flood Insurance Program and enforce floodplain management in FEMA special flood hazard areas. Development, fill, or substantial improvement in a mapped floodplain needs a floodplain development permit first, and new or substantially improved buildings must have their lowest floor elevated to or above base flood elevation, commonly with a freeboard margin above the minimum. The risk is real: steep terrain funnels rain into narrow valleys fast, and the June 2016 flood was catastrophic across West Virginia, killing 23 people. W. Va. Code §7-1-3u gives the county broad authority to protect people and property from floods.
Building or filling in a special flood hazard area without a floodplain development permit brings county enforcement, mandatory correction or removal, and higher or force-placed flood insurance.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Kanawha County, WV
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Kanawha County, WV
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See how Kanawha County's flood zones rules stack up against other locations.
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