Gulfport, MS Hurricane Preparedness: Flood Elevation (2026)

Appendix B, Article 5, Sec. F governs coastal high hazard areas, mapped as VE Zones, which the ordinance describes as subject to special flood hazards from high-velocity waters driven by wave action from hurricanes. New construction and substantial improvements in these zones must be elevated on pilings or columns so the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member clears base flood elevation by at least 1 foot, or 1 foot above the street centerline if that is higher, and the pile or column foundation must be anchored to resist flotation, collapse, and lateral movement from wind and water loads acting simultaneously, using wind values from state or local building codes.

A registered professional engineer or architect must certify the design meets these standards, and the floodplain administrator keeps a permanent record of the certified elevation for every structure built or substantially improved in a VE Zone. Space below the lowest floor must stay open or use breakaway walls, open lattice, or insect screening designed to fail under wind and water loads without damaging the elevated structure; a breakaway wall's safe loading resistance is capped between 10 and 20 pounds per square foot unless an engineer certifies a stronger design still meets the collapse-before-structural-damage standard.

Fill cannot be used for structural support under a VE Zone building, sand dunes cannot be artificially altered in ways that increase flood damage potential, and new construction must sit landward of the mean high tide line. Critical facilities in any SFHA carry an even higher bar of 3 feet 6 inches above base flood elevation under Article 5, Sec. G, reflecting how central storm-surge resilience is to Gulfport's post-Katrina flood ordinance.