How to check your property’s flood risk

Being a homeowner, you should assess your home’s current and future flood risk status. For that, you need to understand what flood risk means; that is, recognizing the restrictions of the engineered systems, and “realizing that future development within a watershed can alter natural flooding and reduce the effectiveness of existing protection systems.”

How will you understand your flood risk?

To help you understand your risk, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has created Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), which shows areas of high-risk, moderate to low-risk and undetermined risk. Check out in which flood zone you’re living:

1. High-risk areas (Special flood hazard area or SFHA)

On the flood maps, the high-risk areas begin with ‘A’ or ‘V’ letters. It means, there’s a 1 in 4 chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage. That’s why home and business owners in these areas must buy flood insurance.

2. Moderate to low-risk areas (Non-special flood hazard area or NSFHA)

Since flood risk in these regions is not completely erased, property owners are recommended to get flood insurance. These flood zones are marked with letters ‘B’, ‘C’ or ‘X’ (or a shaded X).

3. Undetermined risk areas

These areas begin on flood maps with the letter ‘D.’ The flood insurance in these regions reflects the uncertainty of flood risk.

How will you check your home’s flood risk?

Here’s how to check your home’s flood risk:

1. Use a flood risk tool

You can check your home’s risk level by using this Flood Risk Profile tool. You just have to enter your address to check your home’s risk level and receive an estimate for flood insurance.

2. Use a flood map

Are you a homeowner or looking to purchases a home? If yes, then don’t forget to check your flood map. It’ll provide you a visual flood boundary of your property and your area’s flood map number.

3. Use a tool to measure your damage

Apart from assessing the risks of living in a flood prone zone, you must also calculate the cost of your property damage. You can check this interactive tool to find out the cost of flooding, inch by inch. Have you checked your home’s flood risk? If not, then do it immediately. And most importantly, if you don’t have a flood insurance, then get one today. Read more: How much does flood insurance cost?