The City of Lakeland has announced the launch of a new flood risk portal that will enhance community outreach and make it easier for Lakeland residents, real estate and insurance professionals, developers and others to seamlessly access flood risk information for individual properties such as flood zone maps, as well as important documents like elevation certificates. The introduction of this new resource is part of Lakeland’s ongoing efforts to build a more flood-resilient community.
The new flood risk portal is powered by Forerunner, a floodplain management platform that delivers actionable, property-level flood risk information to streamline compliance workflows, improve resident communication, and accelerate disaster recovery efforts. Lakeland plans to use Forerunner to leverage various inspection workflows, launch an interactive flood map, aggregate data, and better track higher regulatory standards that can help the community be more prepared when a flooding event occurs.
“This new public resource will enable us to better inform, communicate with, and above all help prepare our community for flooding events,” said Cole Edwards, Engineer II, and Stormwater Utility & Floodplain Administrator for the City of Lakeland. “We’re excited to bring new technology into our floodplain management practices that will help us adapt and find more effective solutions for the future.”
The City of Lakeland is also looking forward to now having a system that will help automate some of their CRS and SI/SD requirements, with the goal of moving from a Class 7 to a Class 6 in the CRS, which will entitle residents to a 20% discount on flood insurance premiums.
“We’re proud to be working with Lakeland, a city that’s focused on building flood resilience for the long term,” said Susanna Pho, Co-Founder and COO of Forerunner. “We hope that our technology will help residents and property owners to better understand their flood risk and help meet the city’s floodplain management needs today and well into the future.”
Residents can find the portal on https://lakelandfl.withforerunner.com/properties.
About Forerunner:
Forerunner is a floodplain management platform designed to help build more resilient communities. Forerunner delivers actionable, property-level flood risk information to streamline compliance workflows, improve resident communication, and accelerate disaster recovery efforts. Forerunner has been named to the GovTech 100, an annual list highlighting the 100 companies focused on and making a difference in communities across the United States, for two years running.