Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) EXAM
STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027 ACCURATE
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT DETAILED
ANSWERS || 100% GUARANTEED PASS
<NEWEST VERSION>
1. Types of floodplains - ANSWER ✔ Riverine, coastal, and shallow
2. Watershed - ANSWER ✔ area that drains into a lake, stream, or body of
water. Also called basin or catchment area.
3. Channel - ANSWER ✔ Ground features that carry water through and out
of a watershed
4. Riverine Flooding - ANSWER ✔ flooding that occurs along a channel
5. Flash flooding - ANSWER ✔ flooding that occurs in hilly and
mountainous areas that may come scant minutes after a heavy rainfall. One
can also occur in urban areas where pavements and drainage improvements
speed runoff to a stream.
6. Overbank Flooding - ANSWER ✔ The most common type flooding in the
US. It occurs when downstream channels receive more rain or snowmelt
than normal, or a channel is blocked by ice or debris. Excess water overloads
the channels and flows out onto the floodplain
7. Velocity - ANSWER ✔ One measure of a flood is the speed of moving
water. Measured in feet per second
8. Thalweg - ANSWER ✔ The channel bottom
9. Meander - ANSWER ✔ a curve in the channel. The outside bank of the
meander is subject to erosion, the inside bank is subject to deposits
,10.Accrete - ANSWER ✔ to build up a shoreline by depositing sand, either by
nature or human actions
11.Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) - ANSWER ✔ A FEMA
disaster assistance grant that funds mitigation projects
12.HEC-2 - ANSWER ✔ A computer model used to conduct a hydraulic
study, which produces flood elevations, velocities, and floodplain widths
13.HEC-RAS - ANSWER ✔ A computer model used to conduct a hydraulic
study, which produces flood elevations, velocities, and floodplain widths
14.Home Rule - ANSWER ✔ A community authorized to do anything that is
not prohibited by statute
15.Human Intervention - ANSWER ✔ Actions that must be taken by one or
more persons before floodwaters arrive in order for a building to be
floodproofed
16.Hydrodynamic Force - ANSWER ✔ The force of moving water, including
the impact of debris and high velocities
17.Hydrologic Cycle - ANSWER ✔ The natural cycle that circulates water
throughout the environment to maintain an overall balance between water in
the air, on the surface and in the ground
18.Hydrology - ANSWER ✔ The science dealing with the waters of the earth.
A flood discharge is developed by a hydrologic study
19.What year did the US Congress pass the National Flood Insurance Act? -
ANSWER ✔ 1968
20.What did the National Flood Insurance Act create? - ANSWER ✔ National
Flood Insurance Program
21.What is NFIP? - ANSWER ✔ National Flood Insurance Program
,22.What is the acronym for the National Flood Insurance Program? - ANSWER
✔ NFIP
23.The National Flood Insurance Program was created to do these two things? -
ANSWER ✔ 1) reduce future flood losses theough local floodplain
management, and 2) provide protection for property owners against potential
losses through an insurance mechanism that allows a premium to be paid for
protection of those most in need.
24.As part of an agreement for making Flood Insurance available to the
community, the NFIP requires? - ANSWER ✔ The community to adopt a
floodplain management ordinance that meet certain minimum requirements
intended to reduce future flood loss.
25.Flood event that has a 1% percent annual chance in any given year? -
ANSWER ✔ 100 year flood also known as the base flood
26.Lands that are at risk of being inundated by the base Flood are called? -
ANSWER ✔ Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA)
27.What is the acronym for Special Flood Hazard Area? - ANSWER ✔ SFHA
28.In which of the following cases will the developer of a subdivision in an
approximate A
Zone not have to conduct a flood study?
a)
the subdivision will have 40 lots and cover 4.5 acres
b) the subdivision will have 52 lots and cover 4.5 acres
c)
the subdivision will have 40 lots and cover 5.5 acres
d) the subdivision will have 3 lots and cover 5.1 acres - ANSWER ✔ a) the
subdivision will have 40 lots and cover 4.5 acres
29.Which of these materials is not sufficient to elevate a manufactured home
above the
BFE?
a)
poured concrete walls
b)
, reinforced piers
C)
concrete blocks
d)
None of the above - ANSWER ✔ c) concrete blocks
30.Floodtown has a FIRM with base flood elevations, but no floodway or
coastal high
hazard area. What NIP regulations must Floodtown follow?
a) 44 CFR 60.3(a)
b)44 CFR 60.3(b)
c)44 CFR 60.3(c)
d) All of the above - ANSWER ✔ d) All of the above
31.The Floodtown Town Engineer gives you information that shows the ground
to be
higher than the BFE. Can you allow a new building at that site without
requiring an
elevation certificate?
a) Yes
b)
No
CI
Only if a LOMA is issued
d)
Only if a LOMR is issued - ANSWER ✔ a) Yes
32.A developer wants to build a four-acre shopping center in an unnumbered A
Zone in
Floodtown. Which of the following would be acceptable sources of base flood
elevations?
a) A study conducted by the developer and approved by the Town
Engineer.
b) A study prepared by the State Flood Insurance Coordinator's office.
C)
The FEMA Regional Office says that two feet above the flood of record
approximate the 100-year flood
d)
All of the above - ANSWER ✔ D. All of the above
STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027 ACCURATE
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT DETAILED
ANSWERS || 100% GUARANTEED PASS
<NEWEST VERSION>
1. Types of floodplains - ANSWER ✔ Riverine, coastal, and shallow
2. Watershed - ANSWER ✔ area that drains into a lake, stream, or body of
water. Also called basin or catchment area.
3. Channel - ANSWER ✔ Ground features that carry water through and out
of a watershed
4. Riverine Flooding - ANSWER ✔ flooding that occurs along a channel
5. Flash flooding - ANSWER ✔ flooding that occurs in hilly and
mountainous areas that may come scant minutes after a heavy rainfall. One
can also occur in urban areas where pavements and drainage improvements
speed runoff to a stream.
6. Overbank Flooding - ANSWER ✔ The most common type flooding in the
US. It occurs when downstream channels receive more rain or snowmelt
than normal, or a channel is blocked by ice or debris. Excess water overloads
the channels and flows out onto the floodplain
7. Velocity - ANSWER ✔ One measure of a flood is the speed of moving
water. Measured in feet per second
8. Thalweg - ANSWER ✔ The channel bottom
9. Meander - ANSWER ✔ a curve in the channel. The outside bank of the
meander is subject to erosion, the inside bank is subject to deposits
,10.Accrete - ANSWER ✔ to build up a shoreline by depositing sand, either by
nature or human actions
11.Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) - ANSWER ✔ A FEMA
disaster assistance grant that funds mitigation projects
12.HEC-2 - ANSWER ✔ A computer model used to conduct a hydraulic
study, which produces flood elevations, velocities, and floodplain widths
13.HEC-RAS - ANSWER ✔ A computer model used to conduct a hydraulic
study, which produces flood elevations, velocities, and floodplain widths
14.Home Rule - ANSWER ✔ A community authorized to do anything that is
not prohibited by statute
15.Human Intervention - ANSWER ✔ Actions that must be taken by one or
more persons before floodwaters arrive in order for a building to be
floodproofed
16.Hydrodynamic Force - ANSWER ✔ The force of moving water, including
the impact of debris and high velocities
17.Hydrologic Cycle - ANSWER ✔ The natural cycle that circulates water
throughout the environment to maintain an overall balance between water in
the air, on the surface and in the ground
18.Hydrology - ANSWER ✔ The science dealing with the waters of the earth.
A flood discharge is developed by a hydrologic study
19.What year did the US Congress pass the National Flood Insurance Act? -
ANSWER ✔ 1968
20.What did the National Flood Insurance Act create? - ANSWER ✔ National
Flood Insurance Program
21.What is NFIP? - ANSWER ✔ National Flood Insurance Program
,22.What is the acronym for the National Flood Insurance Program? - ANSWER
✔ NFIP
23.The National Flood Insurance Program was created to do these two things? -
ANSWER ✔ 1) reduce future flood losses theough local floodplain
management, and 2) provide protection for property owners against potential
losses through an insurance mechanism that allows a premium to be paid for
protection of those most in need.
24.As part of an agreement for making Flood Insurance available to the
community, the NFIP requires? - ANSWER ✔ The community to adopt a
floodplain management ordinance that meet certain minimum requirements
intended to reduce future flood loss.
25.Flood event that has a 1% percent annual chance in any given year? -
ANSWER ✔ 100 year flood also known as the base flood
26.Lands that are at risk of being inundated by the base Flood are called? -
ANSWER ✔ Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA)
27.What is the acronym for Special Flood Hazard Area? - ANSWER ✔ SFHA
28.In which of the following cases will the developer of a subdivision in an
approximate A
Zone not have to conduct a flood study?
a)
the subdivision will have 40 lots and cover 4.5 acres
b) the subdivision will have 52 lots and cover 4.5 acres
c)
the subdivision will have 40 lots and cover 5.5 acres
d) the subdivision will have 3 lots and cover 5.1 acres - ANSWER ✔ a) the
subdivision will have 40 lots and cover 4.5 acres
29.Which of these materials is not sufficient to elevate a manufactured home
above the
BFE?
a)
poured concrete walls
b)
, reinforced piers
C)
concrete blocks
d)
None of the above - ANSWER ✔ c) concrete blocks
30.Floodtown has a FIRM with base flood elevations, but no floodway or
coastal high
hazard area. What NIP regulations must Floodtown follow?
a) 44 CFR 60.3(a)
b)44 CFR 60.3(b)
c)44 CFR 60.3(c)
d) All of the above - ANSWER ✔ d) All of the above
31.The Floodtown Town Engineer gives you information that shows the ground
to be
higher than the BFE. Can you allow a new building at that site without
requiring an
elevation certificate?
a) Yes
b)
No
CI
Only if a LOMA is issued
d)
Only if a LOMR is issued - ANSWER ✔ a) Yes
32.A developer wants to build a four-acre shopping center in an unnumbered A
Zone in
Floodtown. Which of the following would be acceptable sources of base flood
elevations?
a) A study conducted by the developer and approved by the Town
Engineer.
b) A study prepared by the State Flood Insurance Coordinator's office.
C)
The FEMA Regional Office says that two feet above the flood of record
approximate the 100-year flood
d)
All of the above - ANSWER ✔ D. All of the above
