On FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Hazard Boundary Map, the federal agency classifies Zone A as a Special Flood Hazard Area, which has a 1% annual risk of a major flood, also known as the base flood or 100-year flood. Flood insurance rates are commensurate with the uncertainty of the flood risk.Flood Zone A communities have a higher chance of floods due to their proximity to ponds, lakes and other large bodies of water. No flood hazard analysis has been conducted. Base flood elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones.Īreas with possible but undetermined flood hazards. These areas have a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage.

No base flood elevations are shown within these zones.Ĭoastal areas with a 1% or greater chance of flooding and an additional hazard associated with storm waves. 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.Ĭoastal 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.Īreas with a temporarily increased flood risk due to the building or restoration of a flood control system (such as a levee or a dam). 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. Base flood elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones.

In most instances, base flood elevations derived from detailed analyses are shown at selected intervals within these zones.Īreas 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.

Because detailed analyses are not performed for such areas no depths or base flood elevations are shown within these zones.Īreas with a 1% annual chance of flooding and a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. In communities that participate in the NFIP, mandatory flood insurance purchase requirements apply to all of these zones: ZoneĪreas with a 1% annual chance of flooding and a 26% chance of flooding over the life of a 30-year mortgage. Insurance purchase is not required in these zones. No Base Flood Elevations or depths are shown within this zone. In communities that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), flood insurance is available to all property owners and renters in these zones: ZoneĪreas outside the 1-percent annual chance floodplain, areas of 1% annual chance sheet flow flooding where average depths are less than 1 foot, areas of 1% annual chance stream flooding where the contributing drainage area is less than 1 square mile or areas protected from the 1% annual chance flood by levees.

Fema flood zone ao