Is my address in a flood zone?
Type a U.S. street address to see the FEMA flood zone at that spot, from the same public flood maps lenders use. In Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties we also show the hurricane evacuation zone, in California the state’s fire hazard severity zone, and in the cities of Miami and Los Angeles the zoning. Free, no sign-up, and we do not store the addresses you look up.
What the flood zones mean
- Zone AE (and A, AH, AO)
- High-risk: part of the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the area FEMA maps as having a 1-percent chance of flooding in any given year (the “100-year” or base flood). AE areas have a mapped base flood elevation.
- Zone VE (and V)
- High-risk coastal areas, also in the SFHA, where the base flood is expected to bring additional hazards from storm waves.
- Zone X (shaded)
- Moderate hazard: between the limits of the 1-percent and the 0.2-percent-annual-chance (“500-year”) flood.
- Zone X (unshaded)
- Minimal hazard: outside the SFHA and higher than the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood elevation. Minimal is not zero: flood claims are filed from X zones too.
Source: FEMA Glossary: Flood Zones.
What the check looks up
- Flood zone: FEMA’s flood hazard zones. Inside Miami-Dade County we read the county’s published copy of the FEMA maps (Miami-Dade County GIS, FEMA Flood Zone feature layer (county copy of FEMA flood hazard zones)); elsewhere, Esri’s Living Atlas copy of FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer.
- Hurricane evacuation zone: Miami-Dade County’s Storm Surge Planning Zones and Hillsborough County’s evacuation zones.
- Fire hazard severity zone: California’s 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zones, for California addresses (CAL FIRE Office of the State Fire Marshal, Fire Hazard Severity Zones). The zones describe the hazard of the land, not the risk to a home. CAL FIRE does not endorse this site.
- Zoning: the City of Miami’s Miami 21 zoning map and the City of Los Angeles’s zoning map, with Miami 21 codes explained in plain words. Houston has no zoning code, and the check says so. Overlays, special plans and variances can change what a lot allows, so confirm the lot with the city.
- The neighborhood: when the address falls in a neighborhood we cover, a link to its flood page, with flood insurance claims over the years, and to what living there is like on StrollPlace.
How the address is found
We match the address with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. If the Census address ranges do not cover it, we use OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim search instead. We then check the single point the address resolves to, so a large lot can straddle zones; the result page says which sources answered.
What this check cannot tell you
- The zone is not a rating of a building. Elevation, the floor a unit is on and drainage matter as much.
- Flood maps change. The official answer for an address is the FEMA Flood Map Service Center, and an elevation certificate tells you more than the zone.
- Standard homeowners and renters policies do not cover flooding; get a flood insurance quote early, because new NFIP policies usually take 30 days to start (FloodSmart (NFIP): Buy a Flood Insurance Policy).
Questions
- Do I need flood insurance if I am not in a high-risk zone?
- Lenders only require it in high-risk zones (A and V) for federally backed mortgages, but flooding happens outside them too, and policies there usually cost less. FEMA’s advice is in this fact sheet: FEMA Fact Sheet: Think you don’t need flood insurance? Think again (Jan. 21, 2025).
- Why does the result differ from my neighbor’s?
- Flood zone lines can run between lots or through a building. The check reads the zone at the exact point the address geocodes to.
- Is my address saved?
- No. The lookup is answered on the spot and nothing is stored. Results may be cached for a day so a repeated lookup is faster.