Guide · Flood and storms
How to check a Florida property's flood zone and storm surge zone
The flood zone comes from FEMA's flood maps: zones starting with A or V are the 100-year floodplain, where a federally backed mortgage needs flood insurance; X is outside it. The storm surge zone comes from the state's hurricane evacuation study and says which hurricane category would push seawater onto the land. They answer different questions, so check both, and the parcel's wetlands too.
The flood zone, from FEMA
FEMA's free Flood Map Service Center looks up one address at a time and shows the effective flood map (the FIRM) and its panel. Read the zone under the parcel, not under the pin: a large lot can straddle two zones.
| Zone | What it means | Florida parcels |
|---|---|---|
| AE, A | The 100-year floodplain (a 1% chance of flooding in any year). AE has a base flood elevation; A does not. | 1,401,113 |
| AH, AO | The 100-year floodplain, shallow flooding: ponding (AH) or sheet flow (AO). | 221,706 |
| VE | The 100-year floodplain on the coast, with waves of 3 feet or more. | 37,625 |
| X | Outside the 100-year floodplain: moderate risk where shaded, minimal where not. | 7,446,943 |
| D | Flood risk not studied. | 13,788 |
Counted on 31 October 2026 by the zone each parcel falls in on our map, across all 67 counties: 1,660,452 parcels, 18% of those with a mapped zone, are in the 100-year floodplain.
Zone X is not "no risk". It is outside the 100-year line. Low ground, a wetland at the back of the lot or a storm surge zone can all sit inside X.
The storm surge zone, from the state
Florida's Division of Emergency Management maps storm surge from its Statewide Regional Evacuation Study. A parcel in a Category 1 surge zone can take seawater in a Category 1 hurricane; a parcel in a Category 5 zone only in the strongest storms. The counties' evacuation zones come from the same study, and they decide who is told to leave, and when.
| Surge zone | Florida parcels |
|---|---|
| Category 1 | 926,906 |
| Category 2 | 599,265 |
| Category 3 | 586,552 |
| Category 4 | 901,424 |
| Category 5 | 656,482 |
3,670,629 parcels are in a surge zone of some category, and 4,240,321 are in an evacuation zone. The surge zones on our map are the study's March 2026 release, the evacuation zones its July 2026 release.
A quick check, in order
- Flood zone and whether the parcel is in the 100-year floodplain.
- How much of the parcel each zone covers, if it straddles two.
- Storm surge category and evacuation zone, for anything near the coast or a tidal river.
- Wetlands on the parcel, which the flood map does not show.
- Contours around it, to see whether the building pad sits above the street.
All of it on one parcel
In Map Views, open a parcel and its report lists the FEMA zone with the share of the lot in each zone, whether it is in the 100-year floodplain, the storm surge category, the evacuation zone and the wetlands' share of the lot. Turn on the flood, surge or wetlands layer to see the lines over the street or an aerial, on a phone at the property too.
A flood map is not an elevation certificate or an insurance quote. Ask an insurance agent for the premium and a surveyor for the elevation, and check the effective map on FEMA's site before a decision rests on it.