“Even though we have never experienced flooding, we have a creek that runs through our property, and we worry that it could cause a problem in our basement,” he says. Should You Buy Flood Insurance if You’re Not in a Flood Zone?Ĭlark says he has flood insurance on his home even though he’s not in a federally designated flood zone. Projected flood risk this year, in 15 years and 30 years.The proportion of homes in the area at risk of flooding.Whether the residence is in a flood zone map.The First Street Foundation says its flood model comes from years of peer-reviewed research that gauges the likelihood of storm surges, high tides and other water events in your area.į shows you several flood-related data points about each house including: “Seeing your predictive likelihood of flooding is really, really useful,” Clark says.įlood Factor was created by the First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research firm that aims to make up-to-date flood risk information available to private citizens - homebuyers - rather than commercial interests. “And our mortgage company does not require us to have flood insurance because FEMA has said we’re not in a flood zone.” How Does Flood Factor Work?įlood Factor works like this: Once you type in an address, the website produces a score on a 10-point scale (the greater the number, the greater the risk) to analyze the likelihood of a flood hitting your property. “The reality is that the FEMA flood maps are not up to date, and a lot of us live in areas where we have a greater and greater danger of facing floods,” Clark says. This Free Tool Shows You Whether Your Home Is a Flood Riskįor years, the insurance industry has relied mainly on flood maps created by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to assess risk, but Flood Factor uses more recent data. Money expert Clark Howard says this kind of information can empower homebuyers and potentially save them a lot of money. In this article, we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about, a free online tool that shows you the likelihood of a flood at your home or one you’re thinking about buying. Base flood elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones.If you’re thinking about buying a home, one of the things you need to know up front is whether the house you’re considering is in a flood zone. These areas have a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30 year mortgage. VE - Coastal areas with a 1% or greater chance of flooding and an additional hazard associated with storm waves. Average flood depths derived from detailed analyses are shown within these zones. Base flood elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones.ĪO - River or stream flood hazard areas, and areas with a 1% 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% chance of flooding over the life of a 30 ‐ year mortgage. Because detailed analyses are not performed for such areas no depths or base flood elevations are shown within these zones.ĪE - The base floodplain where base flood elevations are provided.ĪH - Areas with a 1% annual chance of shallow flooding, usually in the form of a pond, with an average depth ranging from 1 to 3 feet. The SFHA designations which appear within Bay County are explained further below.Ī - Areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding and a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30 year mortgage. The areas of minimal flood hazard, which are the areas outside the SFHA and higher than the elevation of the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood, are labeled Zone C or Zone X (unshaded). Moderate flood hazard areas, labeled Zone B or Zone X (shaded) are also shown on the FIRM, and are the areas between the limits of the base flood and the 0.2-percent-annual-chance (or 500-year) flood. SFHAs are labeled as Zone A, Zone AO, Zone AH, Zones A1-A30, Zone AE, Zone A99, Zone AR, Zone AR/AE, Zone AR/AO, Zone AR/A1-A30, Zone AR/A, Zone V, Zone VE, and Zones V1-V30. The 1-percent annual chance flood is also referred to as the base flood or 100-year flood. SFHA are defined as the area that will be inundated by the flood event having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. Flood hazard areas identified on the Flood Insurance Rate Map are identified as a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA).
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