Your House, Flood Maps, and FEMA

Flood plain maps are important because they help individuals, businesses, and governments make informed decisions about land use and development. By knowing which areas are at risk of flooding, property owners can take steps to protect their homes and businesses, such as building levees or elevating their structures. Local governments can use flood plain maps to regulate development in areas that are at high risk of flooding, such as prohibiting new construction or requiring that new structures be built to certain standards.

Flood plain maps are used to help identify areas of land that are at risk of flooding. These maps are created using data collected from various sources, including past flooding events, topographic maps, and computer models. The resulting map shows the areas that are likely to flood during a specific type of flood, such as a 100-year flood or a 500-year flood. A 100-year flood doesn’t mean a major flood will only occur every 100 years, but rather, it means it only has a 1:100 chance of occurring on any given year. This means 100-Year floods have an estimatded 1% chance of happening in a year, and a 500-year flood has an estimated 0.2% chance of occurring. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for creating and maintaining flood plain maps in the United States. FEMA's flood plain maps are used by insurance companies to determine whether property owners are required to carry flood insurance. In addition, FEMA's flood plain maps are used by lenders to determine whether a property is in a high-risk flood zone and therefore requires flood insurance as a condition of obtaining a mortgage. Depending on construction in the area, weather changes, and other factors, flood maps are subject to change. 

It's important to note that flood plain maps are not perfect and cannot predict every flood event. In some cases, a flood may be more severe than what was predicted on the map. For this reason, it's important to stay informed about flood risks and take appropriate precautions, such as purchasing flood insurance, even if your property is not in a high-risk area.