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Since the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been improving flood zone maps to illustrate the potential for severe flooding nationwide. Every community is able to participate in the agency's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which administers flood insurance policies for homeowners, renters and business owners. Flood insurance premiums are determined by the risks associated with flooding in your area. If you live in a higher-risk area, your mortgage lender may require you to purchase flood insurance
The NFIP is also in charge of mapping flood zones, which are depicted on a community's Flood Hazard Boundary Map or Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). If you'd like to know the flood risk for your property, the easiest way is to visit the NFIP's online database of flood risk and input your address. If you're a homeowner in a floodplain, it's not so much a question of if a flood will damage your property as when.
To indicate the risks in different parts of the country, FEMA has assigned a letter of the alphabet to each zone. Below are FEMA's zone definitions.
In communities that participate in the NFIP, flood insurance is available to all property owners and renters with moderate to low risk.
These are areas outside the 1-percent annual chance floodplain, areas of 1 percent annual chance of sheet-flow flooding where average depths are less than 1 foot, areas of 1 percent annual chance stream flooding where the contributing drainage area is less than 1 square mile, or areas protected from the 1 percent annual chance flood by levees. Flood insurance is not required in these zones.
In communities that participate in the NFIP, mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply to all A zones.
Zone A: Areas with a 1 percent annual chance of flooding and a 26 percent chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage.
Zones AE and A1-A30: Areas with a 1 percent annual chance of flooding and a 26 percent chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage.
Zone AH: Areas with a 1 percent annual chance of shallow flooding, usually in the form of a pond, with an average depth ranging from 1 to 3 feet. These areas have a 26 percent chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage.
Zone AO: River or stream flood hazard areas and areas with a 1 percent or greater chance of shallow flooding each year, usually in the form of sheet flow, with an average depth ranging from 1 to 3 feet. These areas have a 26 percent chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. Average flood depths derived from detailed analyses are shown within these zones.
Zone AR: Areas with a temporarily increased flood risk due to the building or restoration of a flood-control system (such as a levee or a dam). Mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements will apply, but rates will not exceed the rates for unnumbered A zones if the structure is built or restored in compliance with Zone AR floodplain management regulations.
Zone A99: Areas with a 1 percent annual chance of flooding that will be protected by a federal flood-control system where construction has reached specified legal requirements.
In communities that participate in the NFIP, mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply to all V zones.
Zone V: Coastal areas with a 1 percent or greater chance of flooding and an additional hazard associated with storm waves. These areas have a 26 percent chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage.
Zones VE and V1-V30: Coastal areas with a 1 percent or greater chance of flooding and an additional hazard associated with storm waves. These areas have a 26 percent chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. Base flood elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones.
Zone D: These are areas with possible but undetermined flood hazards. No flood hazard analysis has been conducted. Flood insurance rates are commensurate with the uncertainty of the flood risk.
In 2008, FEMA revisited 90,000 flood hazard maps that hadn't been updated since 1985. The old maps did not show levees. Several changes were made, including a new "Zone X Protected by levee" category for communities located behind levees. FEMA now requires owners of levees to demonstrate certification proving they are in proper working order and will protect their surrounding communities from severe flooding. If owners fail to demonstrate this, an immediate high-risk rate goes into effect for flood insurance purchased in those areas.
The new maps also include "floodways" that show interior rivers, creeks, streams and the communities surrounding them. Forexample, a Tampa, Fla., map issued by FEMA in 2008 points out coastal flood zones with the potential for "velocity hazards" or high waves. An "X500" category illustrates areas that have a 0.2 percent annual chance for flood under a new 500-year flood designation. This includes areas of 1 percent annual chance for flood with an average depth of less than 1 foot or with drainage areas less than 1 square mile, as well as areas protected by levees with a 1 percent annual chance for flood.
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