Shreveport, LA Hurricane Preparedness: Flood Elevation (2026)

Two linked duties in Shreveport's flood ordinance keep the city's flood-elevation data current enough to actually protect residents before storm season. Sec. 34-50 requires the director of public works to 'obtain and record the actual elevation, in relation to mean sea level, of the lowest habitable floor, including basement, of all new or substantially improved structures, and whether or not the structure contains a basement,' along with the floodproofing certifications required under Sec. 34-46 for nonresidential buildings, and to 'maintain for public inspection all records pertaining to the provisions of this article.' Those records are the elevation certificates FEMA and private insurers use to set National Flood Insurance Program premiums, so an outdated or missing record can mean a homeowner overpays, or cannot get accurately priced coverage before hurricane season.

Sec. 34-49 covers the gap where the base flood elevation hasn't been officially set under Sec. 34-30: the director of public works must 'review and reasonably utilize the FEMA flood hazard map revisions study data performed under contract 89-D028,' plus 'any base flood elevation data available from a federal, state or other source,' naming the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service and the Louisiana Geological Survey, and may require the applicant to fund 'a hydrologic and hydraulic evaluation' to fill the gap. Where field conditions and a mapped boundary conflict, Sec. 34-52 lets the director interpret the exact location of the special flood hazard boundary, subject to appeal to the city council under Sec. 34-53.