Floodplain maps can be viewed and printed 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, at home or office through either of the following websites: FEMA MAPS or  NC FLOODMAPS.

The 100-year storm is theoretically the largest storm that will be equaled or exceeded in a 100 year period. Many people interpreted that to mean that once a 100-year storm occurred they were safe for the next 100 years. That storm event is now referred to as the "1% chance storm" to occur in any given year (also referred to as the base flood).

Guilford County administers the programs for the unincorporated areas, the Towns of Stokesdale, Oak Ridge and Jamestown. Greensboro, High Point, Summerfield and Gibsonville are administered by their respective governments. Pleasant Garden, Whitsett and Sedalia do not participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.

The different zones identify whether the property is located in an area where base flood elevations have been determined (AE), areas of a 0.2% storm (shaded X), or areas outside the 0.2% storm (unshaded X).

No. Flood damage is not covered by your homeowners insurance policy.

You must live in a community that participates in the National Flood Insurance program (NFIP) to qualify for National Flood Insurance.

The fact that a flood hasn't occurred within recorded history doesn't mean one hasn't happened in the past or that one won't happen soon.

Structures located in high-risk flood areas have a significant chance (26 percent) of suffering flood damage during a 30 year mortgage while only a 9 percent chance of loos from fires. A home mapped in a high-risk area is three times more likely to suffer dammage from a flood than fire in the lifetime of a typical mortgage!

For these reasons, flood insurance is required as a condition of receiving Federal or Federally-backed financial assistance.

A FIRM is a map created by the NFIP for floodplain management and Insurance purposes. Digital versions of these maps are called DFIRMs.

A FIRM will generally show a community's base flood elevations, flood zones, and floodplain boundaries. As a property owner/renter, you can use this map to get a reliable indication of what flood zone you're in. However, maps are constantly being updated due to changes in geography, construction and mitigation activities, and meteorological events. Therefore, for a truely accurate determination, contact your insurance agent or company or your community floodplain manager.

Yes. Buildings in floodplains, or Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), are at high risk for flood damage. Some floodplains experience frequent flooding, while others are affected only when there is a severe storm.

As a homeowner in a floodplain, it's not so much a question of if a flood will damage your property as when. That's why the law requires you to have flood insurance. Did you know that an SFHA home has a 26% chance of being flooded over a 30 year period, as compared to a 9% chance of suffering a fire? that means that you're three times more likely to be damaged by flood than a fire!

A LOMR is an official amendment to the currently-effective FEMA map. Issued by FEMA, the LOMR changes flood zones, delinations, and elevations. The FEMA map revision may  mean that your property is no longer shown in a special flood hazard area (SFHA). However, if you receive a LOMR, your risk of flooding has not been eliminated, only reduced.

The good news is that you would likely be eligible to pay much less for your flood insurance coverage. Contact your insurance agent for additional information.

A LOMA is an amendment to the currently effective FEMA map which establishes that a property is not located in a Special Flood Hazard Area. You can submit property and elevation materials supproting a request for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) to remove your property for the SFHA. This process involves the property owner and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Flood coverage limits for a standard flood policy are:

The NFIP is a Federal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance protection against losses from flooding. This insurance is designed to provide an insurance alternative to disaster assistance to meet the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods.

Participation in the NFIP is based on an agreement between local communities and the Federal Government that states if a community will adopt and enforce a floodplain management ordinance to reduce future flood risks to new construction in Special Flood Hazard Areas, the Federal Government will make flood insurance available within the community as a finacial protection against flood losses.

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In support of the NFIP, FEMA identifies flood hazard areas throughout the U.S. and it's territories by producing Flood Hazard Boundary Maps (FHBMs), Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and Flood Boundary & Floodway Maps (FBFMs). Several areas of flood hazards are commonly identified on these maps. One of these areas is the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) or high-risk area defined as any land that would be inundated by a flood having a 1-percent chance of occuring in any given year ( also referred to as the base flood ).

The high-risk area standard constitutes a reasonable compromise between the need for building restrictions to minimize potential loss of life and property and the economic benifits to be derived from floodplain development. Development may take place within the SFHA, provided that development complies with local floodplain management ordinances, which must meet the minimum Federal requirements. Flood insurance is required for insurable structures within high-risk areas to protect Federal financial investments and assistance used for aquisition and/or construction purposes within communities participating in the NFIP.