Glossary

HFIAA Surcharge

The statutory surcharge imposed by Section 1308 of the Act.

High-Rise Building

High-rise condominium buildings have 5 or more units and at least 3 floors excluding enclosure even if it is the lowest floor for rating purposes. An enclosure below an elevated building, even if it is the lowest floor for rating purposes, cannot be counted as a floor to avoid classifying the building as low rise. Under the NFIP, townhouses/rowhouses are not considered high-rise buildings, regardless of the number of floors.

Historic Building

Any building that is:

• Listed individually in the National Register of Historic places (a listing maintained by the Department of the Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register; or
• Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior to qualify as a registered historic district; or
• Individually listed in a state inventory of historic places in states with preservation programs that have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
• Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either:
• By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or
• Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

Historic Properties

Any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in, or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, including artifacts, records and material remains which are related to such district, site, building, structure, or object. [(16 USC Section 70(w)(5)].

HHS

Department of Health and Human Services.

Hospital

Defined as an organization, clinic, medical center, medical college or university, infirmary, surgery center or any other institution, association or foundation providing medical, surgical, or psychiatric care and treatment for the sick or the injured.

Host Applicant

An individual fire department or nonaffiliated EMS organization who applies for a regional project on behalf of itself and any number of neighboring fire departments.

Host State

A State, territory, commonwealth, or tribe that, by agreement with an impact-State or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provides evacuation and sheltering support to individuals from another State that has received a Presidential emergency or major disaster declaration, due to an incident.

Household

All residents of the pre-disaster residence who request temporary housing assistance, plus any additions during the temporary housing period, such as infants, spouses, or part-time residents who were not present at the time of the disaster but who are expected to return during the temporary housing period. 44 CFR 206.111

HUD

Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Human Resources

The Human Resources (HR) cadre ensures FEMA's mission accomplishment by supporting a deployed incident management workforce in local hire staffing, accountability, deployment management, employee relations, employee services (e.g., employee benefits), performance management, and HR policy guidance.

Qualifications

• Experience with recruitment and staffing
• Experience researching information from a variety of sources
• Experience using automated time and attendance software to review, verify and certify employees time
• Maintaining records and logs
• Experience using automated software to create, edit and format a variety of reports and correspondence
• At least one year of experience providing professional customer service

Hazard Mitigation

The Hazard Mitigation (HM) cadre is a team of professionals that promote risk reduction activities from all-natural hazards through community engagement. HM promotes awareness of the benefits of hazard mitigation through public education, encourages private sector partnership, and provides technical assistance to local and state governments in the form of grants management, community planning, and floodplain management.

Qualifications

• Flood, property and/or casualty insurance sales
• Relationship building
• Research, read and interpret Flood maps
• Possess designation as Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM)
• Experience with Floodplain permits
• Building appraisals, cost estimation and general contracting
• Organizational skills and Planning skills

High Hazard Area

An area of special flood hazard extending from offshore to the inland limit of a primary frontal dune along an open coast and any other area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or seismic sources. The coastal high hazard area is identified as Zone V on Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). Special floodplain management requirements apply in V Zones including the requirement that all buildings be elevated on piles or columns.

Hydrodynamic Forces

Hydrodynamic forces are imposed on an object, such as a building, by water flowing against and around it. Among the forces are positive frontal pressure against the structure, drag effect along the sides, and negative pressure in the downstream side. Hydrodynamic forces are one of the main causes of flood damage.Typical areas where hydrodynamic forces are of particular concern are along rivers and streams with high velocity floodwaters and coastal and other areas subject to wave forces.

Hydrostatic Forces

Standing water or slowly moving water can induce horizontal hydrostatic forces against a structure, especially when floodwater levels on different sides of a wall are not equal. Also flooding can cause vertical hydrostatic forces, or flotation. Hydrostatic forces are one of the main causes of flood damage.

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)

See Utilities.

Historic Structure

Any structure that is:

1. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places or preliminarily determined as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
2. Certified or preliminarily determined as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district;
3. Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places; or
4. Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places.

Communities may exempt historic buildings from NFIP substantial improvement and substantial damage requirements in either of two ways. First, they can exempt them through their definition of substantial improvement. Second, they can issue variances for historic structures. However, the improvement must not preclude the structures continued designation as a historic structure and must be the minimum necessary to preserve its historic character.

National Flood Insurance Program Requirements

• 59.1 - Definition
• 60.6 - Variances and exceptions
  • (a) - Variances for Historic Structures

Higher Standard

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has established minimum floodplain management requirements for communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Communities must also enforce any more restrictive state requirements. Any community may exceed the minimum standards by adopting more comprehensive floodplain management regulations. In some instances, community officials may have access to information or knowledge of conditions that require, particularly for human safety, higher standards than the minimum NFIP criteria. Any floodplain management regulations adopted by a state or community which are more restrictive than the criteria set forth in the NFIP regulations are encouraged and shall take precedence. Communities that exceed the minimum requirements of the NFIP may be eligible to participate in the Community Rating System (CRS).

The NFIP requires that communities at least consider additional measures in developing comprehensive management plans for flood-prone areas.

National Flood Insurance Program Requirements

• 60.1 - Purpose of subpart
  • (d) - Precedence Clause
• 60.22 - Planning considerations for flood-prone areas

Highest Adjacent Grade

The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure. In AO Zones, all new construction and substantial improvements of residential structures shall have the lowest floor including basement elevated above the highest adjacent grade at least as high as the depth number specified in feet on the community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM); or at least two feet if no depth number is specified. All new construction and substantial improvements of non-residential structures shall meet the above requirements or, together with attendant utility and sanitary facilities, be floodproofed to the same elevation.

National Flood Insurance Program Requirements

• 59.1 - Definition
• 60.3 - Floodplain management criteria for floodprone areas
  • (c)(7) - Zone AO Requirements
  • (c)(8) - Zone AO Subdivision Requirements

Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP)

A program that provides a set of guiding principles for exercise programs, as well as a common approach to exercise program management, design, development, conduct, evaluation, and improvement planning.