The Problem: Flooding Is the Nation's Most Costly and Common Disaster

Let me be honest with you — flooding is not a fringe risk or a coastal curiosity.

From my 40+ years in the field, I've watched buildings that could have been protected with a simple, proven coating get gutted, condemned, or torn down after flood events that never had to be catastrophic.

That is a waste of money, materials, and human effort that didn't have to happen.

The numbers are staggering and getting worse.

According to FEMA, flooding is involved in 90% of all federally declared natural disasters in the United States.

In 2024 alone, floods caused more than $8 billion in damage to homes and businesses nationwide — and $3.8 billion of that damage occurred in communities that aren't even considered high-risk.

That tells me something the insurance brochures won't: you don't have to live in a flood zone to lose everything to one.

The Congressional Joint Economic Committee put the full annual cost of flooding at between $179.8 billion and $496 billion every year — in today's dollars.

And according to NOAA, weather and climate billion-dollar disasters have averaged $140 billion per year over the last decade.
Buildings are the primary asset in the crosshairs of every single event.

90% — of federally declared U.S. disasters involve flooding (FEMA) - $140B/yr — average annual billion-dollar disaster losses, last decade (NOAA)

$8B+ — flood damage to U.S. buildings & homes in 2024 (FEMA/FloodSmart)  - $25,000 — damage from just 1 inch of water in a home (FEMA)

$179–496B — estimated annual cost of U.S. flooding (JEC, 2024)  - 99% — of U.S. counties have experienced a flood since 1998 (NFIP)

The Escalation: FEMA Is Requiring Proactive Floodproofing — and the Standards Are Tightening

It seems to me that when the Federal Emergency Management Agency releases updated technical bulletins telling building owners to waterproof their structures, people need to pay attention.

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has long required that non-residential buildings in Special Flood Hazard Areas be designed as dry floodproofed — meaning the building must be made watertight and substantially impermeable to floodwater below the Base Flood Elevation (BFE).

But in 2025, FEMA raised the bar further.

NFIP Technical Bulletin 2 (January 2025) updated the flood damage-resistant materials requirements with new ASTM International standards, while Technical Bulletin 7 (April 2025) expanded guidance on wet floodproofing for accessory and historic structures.

Technical Bulletin 3 (2021) governs dry floodproofing certification for non-residential and mixed-use buildings — now referencing ASCE 24 and requiring buildings to be floodproofed one foot above the BFE to qualify for full NFIP insurance rating credit.

Here's what I tell my family and friends: FEMA's dry floodproofing standards call for the exterior envelope of a structure — walls, foundations, slabs, joints — to be free of waterproofing deficiencies such as cracks, water staining, and penetrations.

That is precisely what a seamless, monolithic Green ENCASEMENT Coating delivers.

Short of physically moving or elevating a building, the most effective and economical approach is to turn the building's exterior surfaces into a continuous, waterproof membrane.

Not paint.
Not caulk.
ENCASEMENT.

"Short of moving your building or raising it above flooding, the best approach is to use a proven coating to wind and waterproof the surfaces in the path of destruction. Every dollar invested in flood protection saves $5 to $8 in damages." — George C. Keefe, The ENCASEMENT Guy

The Solution: Green ENCASEMENT Coatings — The Three-Dimensional Answer to Flood Vulnerability

From my experience, the building owners who come out of severe weather events with minimal damage are those who took proactive defensive action before the storm. They didn't wait for FEMA disaster assistance — they stopped the water before it could enter.

Here's how our Three-Dimensional Green ENCASEMENT Coating methodology does exactly that:

DIMENSION 1 — GREEN: Zero-VOC, water-based, non-toxic, biodegradable, ozone-safe, and solar reflective. Class A fire rated. Compliant with EPA/CARB Reg. 1113, ASTM, LEED v4, Green Seal GS-11, and OSHA HazCom standards. Safe for people. Safe for the planet. Safe to apply without hazmat gear or evacuation.

DIMENSION 2 — ENCASEMENT: Cross-link bonding technology creates a seamless, monolithic membrane that is a true multi-threat barrier — against water, wind, UV, and even hazardous materials trapped beneath. Unlike paint, which sits on the surface, our coating bonds at the molecular level to form an impenetrable shield. It provides long-lasting, guaranteed 20-year, renewable service life cycles. FEMA's own guidance calls for 'substantially impermeable' exterior envelopes — this is what that looks like in practice. And critically, it safely encases asbestos, lead-based paint, and PCBs, preventing hazardous material release during storm events.

DIMENSION 3 — COATINGS: Standard brush, roller, or spray application. Water cleanup. No special equipment. Local labor. Breathable, self-leveling, and solar reflective — reducing cooling energy costs 15–40% and surface temperatures 50–80°F. This is the EPA Energy Star-rated RoofCoat solution that turns a vulnerable roof into a fortress.

20+ Years — proven membrane longevity — 4–6x longer than conventional paint 50–80°F — reduction in roof/wall surface temperatures

75% — savings vs. full removal or structural replacement $5–8 — saved in damages for every $1 invested in flood protection (JEC)

15–40% — reduction in cooling energy costs with solar reflective coating 548M tons — C&D debris generated annually when buildings are torn out instead of protected (EPA)

The Results: What Green ENCASEMENT Coatings Do for Flood-Vulnerable Buildings

Here's what I've seen firsthand across 40+ years of real-world projects — from military installations to historic landmarks to industrial facilities — when Green ENCASEMENT Coatings are applied correctly:

• Surfaces with holes, seams, gaps, and openings are quickly transformed into a seamless, continuous, monolithic membrane that stops wind-driven rain and floodwater from penetrating.

• Hazardous materials — asbestos, lead-based paint, PCBs — are safely encased so that storm events don't turn a flood into a hazmat crisis. This is both a protection strategy and a legal liability shield.

• Roofs that were actively leaking or structurally compromised are restored to 20+ year performance without tear-off, replacement, or the 548 million tons of annual C&D waste that replacement generates.

• Coating systems align directly with FEMA's dry floodproofing inspection requirements for wall and foundation waterproofing integrity, helping building owners meet NFIP compliance standards.

• Building owners avoid the catastrophic costs of post-flood tear-outs, mold remediation, structural drying, and hazardous material abatement — which routinely cost 3 to 4 times more than proactive encasement.

• Energy costs drop 15–40% post-application due to solar reflectivity — making Green ENCASEMENT Coatings a disaster mitigation strategy that pays dividends even when the sky is blue.

Ready to protect your building before the next flood event? Visit www.encasement.com or call 800-266-3982

Cited Sources

FEMA / FloodSmart — The Cost of Flooding (2024) — https://www.floodsmart.gov/know-your-risk/cost-of-flooding

FEMA — NFIP Technical Bulletin 2: Flood Damage-Resistant Materials Requirements (January 2025) — https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_tb_2_flood_damage-resistant_materials_requirements_01-22-2025.pdf

FEMA — NFIP Technical Bulletin 3: Requirements for Dry Floodproofed Non-Residential and Mixed-Use Buildings (2021) — https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_technical-bulletin-3_1-2021.pdf

FEMA — NFIP Technical Bulletin 3: Requirements for Dry Floodproofed Non-Residential and Mixed-Use Buildings (2021) — https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_rsl_nfip-technical-bulletin-7-wet-floodproofing-guidance_042025.pdf

FEMA — Floodproofing Non-Residential Buildings (FEMA P-936, 2013) — https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DHS/femap936.pdf

FEMA — National Flood Insurance Technical Bulletins — https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/building-science/national-flood-insurance-technical-bulletins

FEMA — Floodproofing Definition / Glossary — https://www.fema.gov/about/glossary/floodproofing

FEMA — Flood-Resistant Provisions of the 2024 International Codes — https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema-flood-provisions-2024-international-codes.pdf

U.S. Joint Economic Committee — Flooding Costs the U.S. Between $179.8 and $496.0 Billion Each Year (June 2024) — https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2024/6/flooding-costs-the-u-s-between-179-8-and-496-0-billion-each-year

NOAA / NCEI — U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025) — https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2024-active-year-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate-disasters

EPA — Construction & Demolition Debris Generation Statistics — https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/construction-and-demolition-debris-material

Source: Global Encasement, Inc. | Est. Reading Time: 4 min

© 2026 Global Encasement, Inc. / ENCASEMENTguy.com | This article is intended as an educational and SEO reference resource. All third-party citations link to publicly available, authoritative sources.

DISCLAIMER: This article reflects the professional opinion of George C. Keefe based on 40+ years of field experience in environmental coatings and building protection.
Green ENCASEMENT Coatings must be selected and applied according to specific site conditions, substrate types, and local regulatory requirements.
Individual project results will vary based on substrate conditions, climate, application, and maintenance.
Always consult local, county and state laws before specifying or applying any coating system for hazardous material encasement, floodproofing, or building envelope protection.
FEMA floodplain management requirements vary by jurisdiction; consult your local floodplain administrator for applicable regulations.