Rapides Parish, LA Hurricane Preparedness: Flood Elevation (2026)

Chapter 10½, Flood Damage Prevention, governs construction in the parish's special flood hazard areas outside incorporated towns and cities. Under Section 10½-17(1), new construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure must have the lowest floor, including a basement, elevated to or above the base flood elevation shown on the community's FIRM panels. A registered professional engineer, registered architect, or land surveyor must certify to the RAPC that the elevation standard is met, using the data submitted with the development permit application under Section 10½-14(a)(1).

Nonresidential buildings have an alternative: they may be either elevated to the same standard or floodproofed watertight below the base flood level, with a licensed engineer or architect certifying the floodproofing design. Manufactured homes and recreational vehicles placed in the mapped flood zones carry their own elevation and anchoring standards under Section 10½-17(4) and (5). Before any of this work begins, Section 10½-7 requires a development permit from the RAPC, and Section 10½-15 lets the Police Jury itself hear variance requests and appeals from RAPC decisions, including a narrower path for lots of one-half acre or less surrounded by existing below-grade structures.

The chapter applies only to the special flood hazard areas identified in the 1982 FEMA Flood Insurance Study for unincorporated Rapides Parish and its later revisions.