FEMA BCA Toolkit

[froude]

Forum,

Does anybody have experience with the Fema Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) Toolkit with regards to flooding. Specifically, can anybody tell me how long it took them to fill out information for a set number of structures? Any other information you could provide based on personal experience using the software would be appreciated too!

Thanks!

 

[Rye1]

I've developed a love/hate relationship with the BCA software especially the new release. I've recently submitted three grants and SRL, and two HMAs with BCAs on each structure.

Do you have specific questions about the software? For a set number of structures, let's say four commercial warehouses, I could have good BCAs in 2-3 hours. That being said, I have all of my backup information in hand prior to working on the BCA including repacement costs, finished floor elevations, and flood information.

Rye

http://www.newrivereng.com

 

[froude]

Thank you for the info Rye1. I appreciate your insight as I have not used it extensively and will be using it quite extensively soon enough.

So when I am running the BCA to determine the benefit of, say, a culvert improvement (or similar stream crossing upgrade), would I first need to run BCA for existing conditions (i.e. all the homes currently in the floodplain) and then run it for post-project conditions (all the homes in the post-project floodplain)?

Specifically, I am looking at a project where there are approximately 150 structures (residential, commercial, and light industrial) in the floodplain. I am trying to scope the time to determine how long it will take to run the BCA for such a project. However, I am not really certain as to the full procedure.

Thanks again for your previous and any future comments! Much appreciated.

 

[Rye1]

My experience with the BCA software has typcially been with FEMA grants and developing BCAs to purchase and demolish a building. The software calculates the before and after costs and benefits. The benefits are the loss of flood insurance claims over time.

I've done bridge and culvet BCAs in FEMA training sessions but not in actuality.

For your project, I do not think I would try to do this all inside the BCA software - although you may be able to. I would develop the costs in a spreadsheet. I would use the BCA software to develope the benefits numbers. Maybe clump your similar homes and buisness together and say this is an average benefit for this group of buildings.
Then you could do the actual benefit/cost ratio in the spreadsheet.

Robert

http://www.newrivereng.com