Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM)
Exam Questions and Answers
Types of floodplains - Correct Answers -Riverine, coastal, and shallow
Watershed - Correct Answers -area that drains into a lake, stream, or body of water.
Also called basin or catchment area.
Channel - Correct Answers -Ground features that carry water through and out of a
watershed
Riverine Flooding - Correct Answers -flooding that occurs along a channel
Flash flooding - Correct Answers -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.
Zone AO - Correct Answers -SFHA with sheet flow, ponding, or shallow flooding. Base
flood depths (feet above grade) are provided
Zone AH - Correct Answers -Shallow flooding SFHA. Base flood elevations in relation to
NGVD are provided.
Zone B - Correct Answers -Area of moderate flood hazard, usually depicted on Flood
Insurance Rate Maps as between the limits of the base and 500-year floods. B Zones
are also used to designate base floodplains of little hazard, such as those with average
depths of less than 1 foot
Zone C - Correct Answers -Area of minimal flood hazard, usually depicted on Flood
Insurance Rate Maps as above the 500-year flood level. B and C Zones may have
flooding that does not meet the criteria to be mapped as a Special Flood Hazard Area,
especially ponding and local drainage problems
Overbank Flooding - Correct Answers -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
, Velocity - Correct Answers -One measure of a flood is the speed of moving water.
Measured in feet per second
Thalweg - Correct Answers -The channel bottom
Meander - Correct Answers -a curve in the channel. The outside bank of the meander is
subject to erosion, the inside bank is subject to deposits
Accrete - Correct Answers -to build up a shoreline by depositing sand, either by nature
or human actions
Actual Cash Value - Correct Answers -The replacement cost for a building, minus a
depreciation percentage based on age and condition.
Alluvial Fan - Correct Answers -An area at the base of a valley where the slope flattens
out, allowing the floodwater to decrease in speed and spread out, dropping sediment
and rock over a fan-shaped area.
Amendment - Correct Answers -A change to a FEMA floodplain map that removes an
area that was inadvertently included in the Special Flood Hazard Area
Approximate studies - Correct Answers -Flood hazard mapping done using approximate
study methods that show the approximate outline of the base floodplain. An
approximate study does not produce a base flood elevation.
Base Flood Depth - Correct Answers -A measurement of the base flood in feet above
ground, used for shallow flooding
Basement - Correct Answers -Any area of the building having its flood subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides
Base floodplain - Correct Answers -the area of water and land inundated by the base
flood
Basin - Correct Answers -Also known as a Watershed, an area that drains into a lake,
stream or other body of water.
Bathymetry - Correct Answers -The measurement of depths of water in the ocean or
lakes
Bench marks - Correct Answers -Monuments on the ground that show the elevation of
the spot above sea level. Also called Elevation Reference Marks.
Building - Correct Answers -A walled and roofed structure including a gas or liquid
storage tank that is principally above ground as well as a manufactured home. Also
known as structure
Exam Questions and Answers
Types of floodplains - Correct Answers -Riverine, coastal, and shallow
Watershed - Correct Answers -area that drains into a lake, stream, or body of water.
Also called basin or catchment area.
Channel - Correct Answers -Ground features that carry water through and out of a
watershed
Riverine Flooding - Correct Answers -flooding that occurs along a channel
Flash flooding - Correct Answers -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.
Zone AO - Correct Answers -SFHA with sheet flow, ponding, or shallow flooding. Base
flood depths (feet above grade) are provided
Zone AH - Correct Answers -Shallow flooding SFHA. Base flood elevations in relation to
NGVD are provided.
Zone B - Correct Answers -Area of moderate flood hazard, usually depicted on Flood
Insurance Rate Maps as between the limits of the base and 500-year floods. B Zones
are also used to designate base floodplains of little hazard, such as those with average
depths of less than 1 foot
Zone C - Correct Answers -Area of minimal flood hazard, usually depicted on Flood
Insurance Rate Maps as above the 500-year flood level. B and C Zones may have
flooding that does not meet the criteria to be mapped as a Special Flood Hazard Area,
especially ponding and local drainage problems
Overbank Flooding - Correct Answers -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
, Velocity - Correct Answers -One measure of a flood is the speed of moving water.
Measured in feet per second
Thalweg - Correct Answers -The channel bottom
Meander - Correct Answers -a curve in the channel. The outside bank of the meander is
subject to erosion, the inside bank is subject to deposits
Accrete - Correct Answers -to build up a shoreline by depositing sand, either by nature
or human actions
Actual Cash Value - Correct Answers -The replacement cost for a building, minus a
depreciation percentage based on age and condition.
Alluvial Fan - Correct Answers -An area at the base of a valley where the slope flattens
out, allowing the floodwater to decrease in speed and spread out, dropping sediment
and rock over a fan-shaped area.
Amendment - Correct Answers -A change to a FEMA floodplain map that removes an
area that was inadvertently included in the Special Flood Hazard Area
Approximate studies - Correct Answers -Flood hazard mapping done using approximate
study methods that show the approximate outline of the base floodplain. An
approximate study does not produce a base flood elevation.
Base Flood Depth - Correct Answers -A measurement of the base flood in feet above
ground, used for shallow flooding
Basement - Correct Answers -Any area of the building having its flood subgrade (below
ground level) on all sides
Base floodplain - Correct Answers -the area of water and land inundated by the base
flood
Basin - Correct Answers -Also known as a Watershed, an area that drains into a lake,
stream or other body of water.
Bathymetry - Correct Answers -The measurement of depths of water in the ocean or
lakes
Bench marks - Correct Answers -Monuments on the ground that show the elevation of
the spot above sea level. Also called Elevation Reference Marks.
Building - Correct Answers -A walled and roofed structure including a gas or liquid
storage tank that is principally above ground as well as a manufactured home. Also
known as structure
