FEMA Flood Zone Guides
Understand every FEMA flood zone designation, what it means for your property, and whether flood insurance is required.
Zone A — High Risk
Areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding (100-year floodplain) where no Base Flood Elevations have been determined. These areas carry the highest flood risk …
View GuideZone AE — High Risk with BFE
Areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding where Base Flood Elevations have been determined. This is the most commonly mapped high-risk flood zone with …
View GuideZone AH — Shallow Flooding
Areas with a 1% annual chance of shallow flooding, usually in the form of ponding, with average depths of 1 to 3 feet. Base Flood …
View GuideZone AO — Sheet Flow
Areas with a 1% annual chance of shallow flooding in the form of sheet flow, with average depths of 1 to 3 feet. Flood depths …
View GuideZone V — Coastal High Risk
Coastal areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding and additional hazards from storm-induced wave action. These are the highest-risk coastal flood zones without determined …
View GuideZone VE — Coastal High Risk with BFE
Coastal areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding and wave action where BFE has been determined. These zones have the most stringent building requirements …
View GuideZone B — Moderate Risk
Areas of moderate flood risk, typically between the limits of the 100-year and 500-year floodplains. Also known as the 0.2% annual chance flood zone on …
View GuideZone C — Low Risk
Areas of minimal flood risk outside the 500-year floodplain. Equivalent to Zone X (unshaded) on newer maps. Flooding is possible but unlikely under normal conditions.
View GuideZone X — Minimal Risk
Areas determined to be outside the 500-year floodplain. Zone X is the modern designation used on newer FIRM maps, replacing Zones B and C. Unshaded …
View GuideZone D — Undetermined Risk
Areas where flood hazards have not been determined but flooding is possible. No flood hazard analysis has been conducted, so the actual risk is unknown.
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