Before purchasing a home, it’s essential to be familiar with its surrounding flood zones. Flood zones help assess risk levels, setting mandatory insurance purchase requirements and building codes in high-risk areas.
Zones beginning with A or V are designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), having an approximate one percent risk of flooding annually.
High-Risk Zones
Everyone lives within some kind of flood zone, though the flood risk varies based on each property’s individual circumstances. This information can be found on your community’s flood map and used to determine insurance requirements and costs in that area. Risk can be measured based on how often flooding may cause damage over time.
FEMA’s maps identify high-risk zones as those beginning with A or V. Homeowners residing within these zones must purchase flood insurance if their mortgage loan comes from government-backed source while it’s optional if private mortgage loans are involved, though usually advised.
FEMA designates moderate-risk areas as zones beginning with B or C, typically experiencing flooding less than once each year. While these areas don’t need flood insurance policies, having it can help minimize costs significantly.
Low-risk areas are designated by zones beginning with the letters X or D and have less risk of flooding than previous zones; they’re protected by levees or dams that provide protection. While low-risk zones don’t need flood insurance policies, climate change could still bring flooding.
No matter your flood zone designation, it is necessary to raise your home by at least one to two feet above its expected flood depth. This is necessary both for its structure and contents as the rising waters could potentially cause irreparable structural damage if not elevated appropriately. Any enclosed living spaces below the base flood elevation (BFE) must also be elevated while any electrical, plumbing, or HVAC equipment that has not yet been elevated must also be moved onto higher floors.
New York City’s most hazardous areas for flooding include Lower Manhattan waterfront and its eastern and western portions in Upper Manhattan; South Brooklyn waterfront in Staten Island as well as Howard Beach in Queens are particularly at risk, so when purchasing property be sure to inquire about potential risks from flooding. When considering purchasing property be sure to consider your potential flood zone designation so as to understand any possible future flood risks and potential evacuation procedures.
Moderate-Risk Zones
Moderate-risk flood zones are areas with decreased likelihood of flooding but still possible; homes in this category usually start with letters B, C or X to indicate shading or unshading respectively. They account for 25 percent of flood insurance claims and receive one third of federal disaster assistance for flooding; although flood insurance isn’t required here it is recommended.
FEMA develops flood maps of the nation, which serve to assess whether or not properties are at risk of flooding and set purchase requirements for mortgages backed by the National Flood Insurance Program. High-risk areas with at least a 1-in-20 chance that flooding will occur are required by law to purchase this insurance; renters and owners alike.
For a home or business to be considered high risk, they must be located within an SFHA as defined by FEMA on its official flood map. SFHAs include all flood zones starting with A or V as well as letters.
SFHAs, or Special Flood Hazard Areas, are defined as regions with at least a one percent annual chance of flooding, plus additional threats due to storm surge waves along coastal zones. Due to increased danger and higher insurance premiums in these zones, owners typically must secure an NFIP-backed mortgage in these locations.
There are also other flood zones with lower risks, including Zone AH for properties where annual flooding risk is expected to be shallow and not cause structural damage to foundation. Zone AO represents at-risk areas that might see deeper floodwater inundation requiring some degree of structural repair work.
There’s also the X flood zone designation, typically reserved for areas protected from the 100-year floodplain by levees or other flood control measures. Since risks in these zones are less clear-cut than with other zones, property owners in these categories often do not need an NFIP-backed mortgage and can purchase flood insurance at more competitive rates.
Low-Risk Zones
FEMA flood zone maps can play an essential part in whether or not you decide to purchase a home. These lettered zones represent how often flooding might occur on any particular property and whether flood insurance may be required as part of any mortgage loan agreement; otherwise it might still be wise to purchase this coverage just to protect from water damage in lower risk zones.
Finding out a home’s flood zone can be as easy as checking its FEMA map. This map will illustrate its current risk level and how it has fluctuated, as well as giving an estimate of Base Flood Elevation (BFE), which indicates when flood waters will reach your property and where any electrical, plumbing, or HVAC components must be elevated accordingly.
Homeowners in zones AE, A and AO are at high risk of flooding and should consider purchasing flood insurance to cover it. These zones are vulnerable to 1% annual chance storms which cause 100-year floods; shallow floods with depths between one to three feet are expected in these regions.
Zone AH describes areas that have an annual chance of flooding from sheet flow that is between one to three feet deep, while A99 indicates areas which could experience surface water flooding such as ponding or surface flooding.
Homes located within Special Flood Hazard Areas will typically require a mortgage from a federally backed or regulated lender, so if you’re purchasing one it would be prudent to inquire from both sellers about flooding experiences, and local governments about any changes in flood mapping that have taken place since purchasing it.
Homeowners in lower-risk areas should take measures to protect their properties by elevating all structures to at least the BFE, including finished or unfinished areas above the lowest floor and any detached buildings such as sheds, garages or carports.
Moderate-Risk Subzones
Some areas are considered at moderate risk of flooding and don’t fit neatly into either high or low categories of risk, identified on FEMA flood maps with zones between A and V – A representing flooding according to 100-year floodplain standards, V coastal zones that might also be affected by storm waves.
FEMA updates its flood maps regularly, and many New York City homeowners residing in zones A or V must obtain insurance. To gain a more precise assessment of risk, Flood Help NY’s online mapping tool enables users to enter their address and see which flood zones apply.
This tool takes into account data such as elevation, building characteristics and flood zone status. Furthermore, it accounts for future environmental changes like sea level rise, climate change and rainfall patterns.
While homeowners in high-risk zones aren’t technically required to purchase flood insurance, most lenders won’t approve financing a mortgage on such property without proof of coverage – particularly loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
People living in moderate-risk flood zones may be eligible for lower insurance premiums. There are various zones which fall into this category, including Zone AE with its subcategories A1-A30; these zones tend to experience flooding that arises from river or stream crests with depths typically ranging between one and three feet.
Zone AO refers to flooding risks from smaller drainage areas than one square mile and occurs less often than 100-year floodplain. Even one inch of water can cause over $25,000 worth of damage in damage to a home or business.
Zone X refers to areas not vulnerable to the 100-year floodplain due to levees or dams, yet are still subject to flood damages if infrastructure supporting them becomes compromised or eroded. It should be noted, however, that such zones don’t always guarantee complete freedom from all flood risks; infrastructure supporting them could still deteriorate and cause flooding damages in this case.
